Coming Home
by tmaslayme
Summary: Tragedy strikes and Haley James is forced to move across the country. There she is surrounded by many new people, but will Haley be able to move on from what happened to her and will she be able to let go of her old life enough to be happy in her new one?
1. Chapter 1

**Coming Home: After Haley James' life is torn apart she is forced to move across the country and restart. There she is surrounded by many new people, but will Haley be able to move on from what happened to her, and will she be able to let go of her old life enough to be happy in her new one?**

**Disclaimer:One Tree Hill and all it's characters belong to Mark Schwahn and the CW network. Unfortunately, I own nothing. If I did, we woulda had a lot more Naley in season 8!**

**A/N: Okay guys, here we go again! For those of you that knew I was starting this story, sorry it took longer than expected to get published. For those that didn't know anything about it till now, thanks for beginning to read! I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter, R&R!**

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><p>"Jake Jagielski, that was mean!" Haley James yelled at her best friend.<p>

A loud laughter echoed across the yard and Haley immediately began running in that direction. When she finally made it to the tree she suspected her best friend to be behind, she slowed to a tip toe and moved around the tree as quietly as possible. Jake's back slowly came into view as Haley realized her friend was looking out on the wrong side of the large plant. She snickered under her breath and immediately threw the large water balloon that was in her hand onto the boy's head.

"Jesus Christ!" he yelled in shock and turned around, glaring at the girl that had burst out laughing.

"Sucks, buddy! That's what you get for trying to cheat and use a hose!"

"I only did it because it's not fair that you've managed to not get wet at all in this water fight and I'm soaking!"

"Man, the girl can't help it if she's damn good!" another voice exclaimed from behind the duo.

Haley and Jake turned around to see their other four friends Skills, Mouth, Fergie, and Junk approaching them, all of whom were soaking wet as well. Haley laughed and shrugged her shoulders at Jake. "It's true."

Jake smiled mischievously at the petite girl. "What are you going to do?" she asked suspiciously.

He imitated her earlier action and shrugged his shoulders. Just as Haley turned her back on him to begin talking to her other friends, Jake grabbed her waist and threw Haley over his shoulders. He started running across his lawn and quickly made it over to the large pool.

"Jacob Jagielski, you put me down right now or I'll..."

"You'll what?"

"I'll tell my mom that you snuck out last weekend and got wasted."

"Oh, you're good," Jake sighed and made a move to put the girl back on her feet. "Too bad your mom already knows!" he finished and quickly jumped into the deep end of the pool.

Moments later, Haley came to the surface of the water, sputtering in an attempt to breathe. "You are such an ass!"

Jake smirked at his best friend. "Yeah, but you love me anyway! The mom threat was pretty good though!" he sing-songed.

Haley laughed and shrugged. She wasn't really surprised that her mom knew about the mischief her friend had gotten into though. Jake and Haley had been best friends for twelve years and the entire time Lydia and Jimmy James had been surrogate parents to Jake. Jake was more like a brother to Haley, especially since she was an only child.

"Alright guys, we gotta go, but we'll see ya tomorrow. And happy birthday, Jagielski," Skills announced and the four guys that had been watching Haley and Jake began walking towards the gate to leave the large backyard.

"Bye! See you tomorrow," Jake and Haley said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed, used to saying the same thing at the same time now.

Jake noticed that Haley was beginning to shiver in the water from the cold October breeze and swam over to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled them towards the steps of the pool. The duo climbed out of the water at the same pace and walked quickly to the towels they had laid out on the lounge chairs earlier. Jake picked up both towels and first wrapped Haley's around her and then did the same for him.

Haley heard her best friend sigh and gazed sympathetically at him. "You wanna talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about? Other than the fact that my parents are once again gone on an important occasion, and don't seem to care."

"Hey, who needs them anyway when you've got your overly awesome best friend here to celebrate with you? Not to mention I'm here for every other special occasion, too," she smiled at him while patting his back consolingly.

Jake smiled lovingly at her and stood up. "I can't stay in this stupid house tonight. It's too big and empty. Can we change and go back to yours?"

"Yeah, sure. My parents are out for dinner right now so we'll have the place to ourselves for a little while."

Jake nodded and the two went in separate directions to change out of their wet clothes. Since Haley spent so much time at Jake's house she had been given a bedroom of her own when they were kids. She kept a couple changes of clothes there in case an unexpected water fight broke out, like today. She took out a pair of comfy sweat pants and a tank top and quickly changed into them. When she finished, Haley walked down to the foyer of the extravagant home and met Jake who was also changed now and had his shoes on.

Haley slipped on her flip flops and Jake held open the front door for them as they began walking to his brand new Mercedes-Benz convertible. "It's nice to know they think buying me an expensive car makes up for not actually being here," he shook his head.

Haley remained silent and hopped into the front passenger seat. Jake sunk into the driver's seat and slammed his door shut angrily. He turned the car on and took off down the quiet street of his gated neighbourhood.

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><p>Jake parked the convertible in Haley's small driveway. He surveyed the slightly rundown neighbourhood and smiled. The James family may not have a tonne of money like his did, and they may live in a slightly lower class area of their small town, but he loved it. The two best friends spend most of their time in the James' comfortable home.<p>

"Home sweet home," he whispered to himself happily.

Haley smiled at him and unbuckled her seat belt. She cocked her head in the direction of the door. "Come on, let's head inside and I'll make us some dinner. I also happen to have a rich chocolate cake with chocolate icing in there with your name on it."

Jake licked his lips hungrily and hastily unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the low car. Haley chuckled and followed behind him, unlocking the front door. The pair kicked off their shoes and immediately walked into the small kitchen.

"What do you want for your birthday dinner, Jakey?"

"Uh, surprise me!" he said as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Spaghetti and meatballs it is!"

"You know me too well, James."

She smirked and nodded in agreement. Haley moved around her kitchen getting out all the necessary ingredients for Jake's favourite meal.

"So, I'm pretty sure there's some big party tonight. We can go for your birthday, if you'd like."

"When have we ever gone to those, baby James? We both know we're too cool for that crowd. Plus I wouldn't wanna have to listen to you make fun of all the girls acting like sluts all night," he joked.

"I only speak the truth."

Jake was right, had they decided to go to the party Haley would have been making fun of all the desperate drunken girls running around. Haley doesn't really hang around any of the girls she goes to school with, claiming they're all 'shallow and obnoxious'. Instead, she chooses to be friends with guys like Jake, Skills, and Mouth, people who she knows won't drown her in drama or stab her in the back.

"That maybe so, but I still would rather just spend my birthday with you, hanging out like normal."

"Fine with me. What do you propose we do tonight then?"

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe we just relax. Watch a couple movies, play cards. The usual."

"Sounds good to me," she responded while placing a large bowl of pasta down in front of Jake. Haley placed another smaller bowl down in front of the seat next to him and sat down.

Jake and Haley both immediately began eating their delicious meal. The house was silent save for the sound of forks clinking on the plates. When they both finally finished, Jake leaned back against his chair, stretching his arms as far back as possible. Haley stood up and collected both their plates.

"Up you get birthday boy, you need to help me do these dishes."

"Awe, come on Hales, it's my birthday!"

"I don't care. You're going to help me so we can go do something fun faster."

"Ugh, fine," he conceded and walked over to the sink and stood next her.

"Washer or dryer?"

"Dryer."

Haley smiled, knowing that he was going to choose to dry the dishes. She began placing all the dishes she used for the meal in the sink full of warm water and soap. She rinsed them thoroughly before passing them to Jake to be dried and put away. After fifteen minutes Jake had finished putting away the last dish.

He walked back over to his best friend and two high fived each other. "See how much faster that was?"

"Yeah, whatever! Let's go watch a movie now, my choice."

"You don't want your awesome cake?"

"I'm too full right now. We'll have some after the movie?" he suggested.

"Yeah, sure. Now, what movie are we going to watch?"

"I'm in the mood for comedy, any ideas?"

"Comedy?" Haley clarified while walking over to her extensive movie collection. "I've got The 40 year old virgin, Anchorman, or Superbad?"

"I love them all, but I'm feeling Superbad. It's too funny to pass up," Jake laughed excitedly.

"Superbad it is," Haley said and took the DVD out of its case and put it into the player. She switched off the lights in the family room and walked over to the couch where Jake was already seated.

He wrapped his arm around her tightly and draped a blanket across them both. If an outsider to their lives saw them on a daily basis, they would automatically believe Jake and Haley were a couple. The pair usually shook their heads and laughed it off because the mere thought of dating each other was disturbing. Being best friends since Haley moved to California when she was six had allowed the two to grow up together and become almost brother and sister.

Jake and Haley sat back comfortably on the couch and became absorbed in the movie playing on the television. For the next two hours, Jake and Haley were glued to the screen, laughing hysterically every couple minutes at the funny movie.

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><p>"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Jacob, happy birthday to you!" Haley sang happily.<p>

Jake smiled at her and blew out the eighteen candles covering the top of the chocolate frosted cake. "And make another wish with the first cut," Haley reminded as she passed a knife to him to cut the cake.

Jake nodded and slowly made the first cut into the cake. He made a second cut and lifted the slice out of its confines with the side of the knife. He put it on an awaiting plate and passed it to his friend. "There you go."

Jake then cut a large piece of cake out for himself and put it on the other awaiting plate. He grabbed the fork that was sitting on the counter and began digging in before making it back to the couch in the family room where the credits to their movie were still rolling. Haley switched off the DVD player and the television. She sat down next to Jake and the two sat in silence eating their cake.

When they both finished Haley took both the empty plates and set them in the sink. She walked to the storage closet on the second floor of her home and grabbed as many of her board games as she could carry. Haley walked slowly back down the stairs and into the family room. She dropped all the boxes on the low coffee table placed in front of the couch and plopped onto the cushions. "Those are surprisingly heavy," she commented out of breath.

Jake chuckled and slid off the couch so he was kneeling in front of the small table. He turned each game box up right so he could them all clearly. Jake surveyed each box before moving all but one off to the side on the floor. "You do realize I'm going to kick your ass, right?" Haley reminded.

"We'll see, James. You never know, I may have been practicing."

"Have you been practicing?"

"You bet your ass I have!"

"Oh God, you're such a nerd Jakey."

"Says the girl with a 4.0 GPA," he countered jokingly.

Haley shrugged and brushed imaginary dirt off her shoulders with a mock conceited look on her face. "You should be honoured that someone of my intelligence and academic achievement is speaking to you at all."

Jake lightly pushed his friend's shoulder and she toppled over. "Hey! That was mean."

"Sorry, Hales. Your ego was getting too inflated again, I had to do something to stop it," he said and stuck his tongue out at her.

She shrugged unaffected. "It happens a lot doesn't it? I guess it should with how awesome I am," she joked and examined her nails, attempting to channel an air of snobbiness.

Jake laughed at his friend's antics and opened the box to the game he had selected. He laid the board out on the coffee table and passed Haley a wooden holder while placing one in front of him as well. Jake and Haley flipped over all the wooden letters in the box quickly. After flipping over all the letters, Jake closed his eyes and picked seven of them out of the box and placed them upright on his wooden holder. He surveyed his selections while Haley selected her letters.

Jake watched Haley's lips curl into a smile as she examined the letters she picked out. "I hope you're prepared to lose worse than you ever have," she taunted.

"Maybe Scrabble won't be you're game anymore after this one," he stated confidently and Haley laughed loudly.

"If that's what you need to believe, Jagielski."

"Just shut up and go, will ya?"

"Oh, so we're abandoning the usual dice roll to see he starts now?"

"My birthday, my choice. And I choose that you go first tonight."

"Okay, whatever you say!" she said and began laying out her letters. "L-O-S-E-R, also known as Jake Jagielski," she winked. "I believe that's 6 points to start off the game for me since the R is on a double letter score box."

"Whatever," Jake returned and once again began surveying his letters to pick out a word to spell. He nodded his head when he decided what word he was going to spell. "R-A-D-I-O, and with the double letter score on the R and the O on a double word score, I believe that's 13 points already?"

"Touché, Jakey."

"Still believe I can't win, Hales?" he teased.

"Yep! It's only been one turn, buddy. You just wait until I get going."

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," he shrugged confidently.

Haley rolled her eyes good naturedly and looked at the new tiles she had selected. The duo continued bantering back and forth as they played the game, laughing and teasing as the lead went back and forth between the two.

An hour and half later, Haley and Jake had finally finished their game of Scrabble. "And you thought you had a shot at winning!"

"I was close for a while, until you went and spelt xylophone on a triple word score and got a 50 point bonus for using all your letters!"

"Yeah, that was pretty great wasn't it?" Haley asked cockily.

"Oh shut up! That was the first game we've ever played that I've even been close to you at all! I'm pretty proud of that."

"You should be proud! That practice seems to be doing some good, but next time I won't go as easy on you for your birthday so you may wanna practice a bit harder," Haley teased.

Jake glared at her and was about to form a comeback when the door bell rang interrupting the good natured banter they had going on.

"It's like midnight. Who comes to the door at this time of night?" Haley asked incredulously without making a move to get up.

"I bet it's some drunken freshman playing ding dong ditch."

"Probably. I know we're only starting senior year and aren't that much older, but I don't remember being half as obnoxious as freshmen now," Haley complained.

"We definitely weren't," he agreed and the pair shook their heads when the door bell rang again and a knock sounded on the door right after.

"Whatever, I'm just gonna go answer and give them a piece of my mind."

Jake stood up as well and followed his friend to the door where the person on the other side was continuing to knock. Haley heard a deep muffled voice call out on the other side and she stopped walking. "Ms. James? Open up."

Haley turned her head and looked at Jake confused. The voice she was hearing was not coming from a freshman in high school. She finally reached the door and turned the knob. The door swung open to reveal two tall men dressed in all navy. "Haley James?"

"Yes?" she responded still confused.

One of the men held up their badge. "My name is Officer Dales and this is my partner Officer Massey."

"Okay? What do you want?" she asked impatiently.

Officer Dales sighed and looked into the soulful brown eyes of the young girl standing before him. She looked no older than eighteen. "I'm going to need to you to come with me. You're friend can come too, if you'd like."

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me what's going on, officer."

The officer stared at Haley. He sighed again and looked away, unable to be looking at her when he spoke. "There's been an accident."


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I finally managed to get this chapter up! Sorry for the massive delay in updating, but those of you who read the note on my profile know that my life took a hectic turn with work and exams this month. However, I am officially done school for this year and have nothing but free time aside from work for the next two months. Hopefully I'll be able to update frequently!

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

"An accident? I'm sorry, I don't understand," Haley said with the confusion evident in her voice.

"It's your parents. They were driving towards town on old route fifty five when someone must have hit them. No other car was at the scene when we arrived, but judging by a smear of different colour paint on the front bumper, we're guessing your parents were hit head on."

Tears began welling in Haley's eyes and Jake looked at the two men with his mouth agape. "They're okay though, right?

"I'm so sorry, Ms. James. Right now, machines are breathing for your parents. I don't know much more, but if you come with Officer Massey and I the doctors at the hospital can give you more information."

A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek and Haley nodded repeatedly, unable to speak at the moment. She grasped tightly onto Jake's hand and slipped on the shoes she kicked off earlier. Jake did the same and the two followed the officers to the squad car parked in the driveway.

The car ride to the hospital was silent save for the noises coming from the two-way radio. When they arrived, Officer Massey parked the car at the entrance to the hospital and the two uniformed men accompanied the teenagers into the intimidating building. One of the men walked up to the nurse's station and asked for directions to Lydia and Jimmy's rooms. They happened to be right across the hall from one another and the police officers escorted Jake and Haley to them.

After a short walk the group of four made it to the intensive care unit. Haley looked through the large glass doors on either side of her and saw both her parents. Their battered faces were covered in dark bruises already and Haley noticed both had white gauze wrapped around their heads. Her mother also had a leg elevated in a sling and wrapped in a plaster cast.

She let out a strangled sob at the sight of her parents looking so injured. Haley buried her face in Jake's muscular chest and he wrapped his arms around her shaking form as tears rolled quickly down his cheeks as well. They broke apart when they heard someone clear their throat and turned to see an older man in a white lab coat looking sympathetically at them.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Richards, you must be Haley James?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "Can you tell me what's going on with my parents?" she asked and her eyes drifted back and forth between the two rooms beside her.

"I'm so sorry, Haley. You're parents are both in a coma and ventilators are breathing for them right now."

"How long will it take for them to wake up?" Jake asked when Haley made no effort to respond to what the doctor had said.

Doctor Richards sighed, "I'm incredibly sorry, Haley, but your parents aren't going to wake up. During the accident they must have both hit their heads incredibly hard, which caused severe, irreparable brain damage."

"No! How do you know they won't wake up! You can't know that for sure!" Haley accused angrily.

Jake wrapped his arms around her and pulled his friend to his chest. He motioned for the doctor to speak as he tried desperately to comfort his friend. "Haley, there's no gentle way to put this, your parents are brain dead. The only thing keeping them alive right now is the life support. Without it, they would die."

Haley let out another loud sob into Jake's chest and he buried his face into the crook of her neck while rubbing her back. Doctor Richards and the two police officers who stood off to the side of the hallway looked at the devastated pair.

"No! No! This can't be happening. I can't lose them!" she cried frantically.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay. Just let it out."

After a few minutes Haley had calmed down enough to talk again. "What do you recommend I do?"

"Say your goodbyes now. It's up to you if you want to pull the plug or you can wait until the coma allows them to pass away naturally."

"I–I can't make a decision like that. Tell me what you would do, please," she begged sadly.

The doctor looked at the young girl, tears forming in his own eyes. "Pull the plug, Haley. There's no telling how long it would take otherwise and the waiting is even more painful for you. Legally speaking though, I can't tell you what to do, that's just my advice."

"Will it hurt them?"

"No. They are both heavily sedated and won't feel any pain."

Haley nodded slowly and covered her mouth with her hand and bent down clutching her chest with her free arm. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow quickly. Jake watched helplessly next to her and began rubbing her back, desperate to sooth her. Haley stood up moments later and silently walked into her father's room. She pulled up the uncomfortable plastic chair that was placed in the corner of the room as close to the bed as she could. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his faint heart beat. Haley grabbed his hand that was lying limp next to his body and clutched onto to it as hard as she could.

"Daddy," she whispered brokenly. "I don't wanna let you go. I love you so much. What am I going to do without you and mom?"

She lifted her head slightly and brought his hand to her face. She kissed the top of it and rested her forehead against it as she cried even harder. She heard Jake enter the room and stand next to her. He put his hand a top hers that was holding Jimmy's and squeezed it gently. Haley nodded to herself and stood up. She bent over the hospital bed and hugged her father, pulling away after several moments. Haley grabbed Jake's hand and the pair began walking out of the room, both looking back at Jimmy on their way out the door.

They walked straight across the hallway, passed the two officers and Dr. Richards and into Lydia James' room. Haley did the same as she did in her father's room and pulled a chair as close to the side of the bed as possible. She took her mother's small hand in her own and squeezed it hard. She stared intently at Lydia's battered face and stroked the hair that was sticking out from under the bandages.

"You remember how you used to tell me you'll always be with me, no matter what happens? Well, I'm holding you to that promise now, Mom. Who knows what's gonna happen to me now, so I'm gonna need you to be there with me. I love you so much, Mom, and I'll miss you and Daddy more than anything," she cried and hugged her mom tightly.

Haley stood from the chair and watched tearfully as Jake whispered a good bye in her mom's ear and hugged her. The two heartbroken teens walked back into the hallway. Haley nodded at the doctor silently. "Okay, you can do it. But do it at the same time... they would want to go together," she said brokenly.

The doctor nodded and glanced at two nurses standing next to him. Each of them walked into one of the hospital rooms and stood next to the life support machines. "Haley, would you like to be in the room when the nurses take your parents off life support?"

She swallowed thickly and shook her head. "No, I–I can't do that."

He smiled sadly at the young girl and signalled to the two nurses to take Jimmy and Lydia off life support. Haley buried her head in Jake's chest as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. The best friends clung onto each other tightly as they heard the heart monitor machines flat line until the nurses switched them off. After several moments, they both looked up and saw the frail, lifeless bodies lying in the beds and let out agonizing sobs.

The five occupants of the hallway watched as the nurses began preparing the bodies to be moved out of the room. Haley shook her head in devastation and began leading Jake out the hospital, along with the two officers.

The ride back to Haley's house had been completely silent so far, save for the sound of sniffles and whimpers coming from the two teens in the back seat and the defeated sighs from the exhausted officers in the front. They arrived in front of the James home and Officer Dales cut the engine and four occupants sat frozen in their seats.

"Haley, we have to speak to you about what's going to happen now since you're only seventeen and still a minor," Officer Massey spoke up.

Haley lifted her head off Jake's shoulder and nodded to signal she was listening. "Do you know a woman named Karen Roe?"

"No?"

"Well, she's your mom's sister and because you have no living grandparents are your dad is an only child, Karen is your next of kin. She lives in a town called Tree Hill, North Carolina and has been informed of what has happened. She'll be arriving here some time tomorrow morning and will be here for the funeral and until you two work out what's going to happen after that."

"Okay. How is she getting to my house?"

"Officer Dales and I have been asked to stay stationed outside your house, so another officer will be picking her up when her flight gets in and driving her here."

"Thank you."

Both men nodded at her in understanding and exited the car. They opened both back doors and allowed the two young friends to get out. Jake and Haley leaned on each other as they walked back into Haley's house and as the tears came pouring down at an alarming rate upon entering the house and being hit by a slew of memories of Jimmy and Lydia. They threw their shoes off and walked slowly up the stairs into Haley's bedroom. Both of them changed into their pyjamas on opposite sides of the room and climbed into bed next each other.

"I love you, Jake," Haley whispered softly.

"I love you, too, Hales," he replied just as softly and kissed her temple lightly. "Go to sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up." He felt Haley nod against his chest and soon heard her breathing even out as she fell asleep. Shortly after, Jake allowed himself drift off into a fitful sleep as well.

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><p>The morning light streamed into the small bedroom. Haley stirred from her sleep and opened her still puffy, red eyes. She rubbed the sleep out of them and slipped from the bed and into the hallway. The sound of voices in the kitchen drifted up the stairs to Haley and she curiously walked to them. As Haley made it to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, the voices stopped. She started in confusion at the two brunettes sitting at the table with the familiar police officers.<p>

"Oh, Haley. You're so beautiful," the only woman of the group said softly as she walked quickly towards the small girl.

"You've never met me, but I'm your aunt Karen," she introduced herself while enveloping Haley in a tight hug.

"Yeah, they uh told me you were coming out here," she replied awkwardly and pulled away from their hug.

Karen nodded kinked her head in the direction of the other three men in the room. "Sit down with us, there's some things we have to talk to you about."

"Actually, I just came down to get some food. Jake's still in bed sleeping so I was gonna go back upstairs and wait for him to wake up," she lied uncomfortably.

"No need, beautiful," Jake spoke up from behind her. He walked further into the room. "I woke up when I realized you weren't next to me anymore," he finished and walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and kissed her temple. "Morning, gorgeous."

When Karen realized the two teens were not going to leave each other's embrace, she cleared her throat awkwardly and smiled Jake. "Hi, you must be Jake. I'm Karen, Haley's aunt and this is my husband Keith," she said and pointed at the only unknown man in the room.

"Hi," Jake responded with a soft smile.

"Now will you come sit with us please, Haley? We do really need to talk to you."

"Sure, I guess."

Jake and Haley sat side by side at the round wooden table. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked after a few moments of silence had passed.

"There are a few things, actually. First, I think you have the right to know that the police found the person who hit your parents. His car was found upside down in a ditch not too far from your parents car and he was dead."

"Who was it?" she asked unsteadily.

"It was boy named Damien West."

All expression fell from Haley's face. She rose from her chair and walked quickly out of the room. Jake pounded his fist angrily on the table and followed his friend out of the room. The remaining adults heard the sound of the girl's sobs as she dry heaved into the toilet bowl in the bathroom down the hall. Karen looked worriedly at her husband but remained seated and minutes later Jake and Haley returned.

"Sorry about that," Haley whispered while wiping her dry mouth with the back of her hand. "I just wasn't expecting that."

"So you knew Damien then?" Keith assumed.

"Yeah. He's my ex-boyfriend. He cheated on me and I broke up with him a few weeks ago."

"Oh, honey," Karen sympathized and rubbed her back.

"It's fine. I'm fine. I'm just relieved to know who's responsible for hitting my parents."

The others nodded in understanding and silence fell upon the group. After five minutes of awkward silence, the two police officers who had been standing off to the side of the room announced they had to leave to get back to patrolling. Haley smiled at them as they left and hugged them in gratitude. Jake shook their hands and Karen and Keith nodded at them kindly.

"Uh, Jake and I are gonna go over to his house. I can't stand being here anymore, but make ourselves at home I guess," Haley said as she and Jake walked back into the kitchen from showing the officers out.

"Actually, there's still one thing we have to sort out with you."

"Oh, okay," she said and took a seat back at the table.

"Jake, if you don't mind, we'd like to talk to Haley about this alone," Karen interjected as she watched the boy make a move to sit down as well.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say to Jake too."

Karen nodded. "We just wanted to talk to you about what's going to happen after the funeral. Of course, Keith and I are going to pay for everything in the funeral that life insurance doesn't cover, so don't even worry about it. But afterwards, we want you to be clear on what's going to happen."

"I don't understand. I figured you'd just let me stay here with Jake, since I've lived here all my life."

"No, that's not what Keith and I have decided. We discussed it on the plane here and we both agree that it's best for you to come back to Tree Hill and live there in our home with us and our son, Lucas."

"What? No! I'm not going to just pack up and leave the town I've been living in almost my entire life. Plus, I don't even know you guys!"

"Haley, I understand that you had a terrible night and this news is obviously coming as a shock, but it's what Keith and I believe to be the best for you. You'll be able to start over again in Tree Hill and break away from all the painful memories that are associated with this town, now. We'll be leaving sometime later this week after your parent's funeral and we'll give you your space to spend time with all your friends and say goodbye."

Haley stared at her aunt and uncle in shock and shook her head silently. She pushed her chair back suddenly with the back of her legs and walked out of the room with tears forming in her eyes again. Jake followed quickly and shuffled her to the front door. He huddled her shattered form to him as they stalked to his car.

"I can't leave, Jake. I don't know how to live without you," she cried.

"I know, but we'll make it through this. I'm not going to let this change anything between us, okay?"

"How can it not? We're going to be across the country from each other in a matter of days!"

"Hey. Don't think like that! I promise you, Haley, I won't let this change anything," he reassured and gripped her hand tightly in his own as they continued to drive slowly down the back roads of the small town.

"I just can't believe this is happening to me. I don't wanna go."

Jake sighed as he too failed to process that his best friend was moving across the country in the coming days. He felt tears forming in his own eyes as it slowly sunk in that his surrogate parents were dead and one of the only people that had truly been there for him his entire life was leaving. He couldn't believe this was happening to her either. Jake moved one of his hands off the steering wheel and took Haley's into it. She squeezed it tightly as though holding on for dear life and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I may not have a choice in this, but I'm sure as hell not going to make it easy on my lovely new aunt and uncle," Haley vowed strongly.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed that last one.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

Haley walked aimlessly down a quiet street in her hometown. Tears were still streaming down her face from her parents' funeral service and burial that ended two hours earlier. The sun was beginning to set and Haley decided it was about time to begin the short walk back to her house, where Keith and Karen were most likely waiting for her.

At the thought of her new guardians, a scowl spread across Haley's face. During the past three days that they had been preparing for the funeral service Haley had barely spoken two words to either of them. Of course, Haley understood why Karen and Keith were making her move to North Carolina; she just refused to be okay with it.

Sighing as she walked onto her front porch, Haley pushed open the unlocked front door and slammed it shut to make her presence known. Karen came running out from the kitchen with Keith trailing behind her.

"Haley! Where have you been? We drove around everywhere looking for you!"

"You obviously weren't looking hard enough. I was just walking around town."

Karen shook her head tiredly. "Okay, we understand that you're devastated about what happened to your parents and upset about having to move across the country, but Keith and I are fed up with your attitude towards us. For the past few days you've been nothing but rude to both of us and it is going to stop right now. The three of us are leaving for Tree Hill tomorrow morning, whether you like it or not, now smarten up and stop acting like a child."

"In case you didn't realize, I'm being a bitch because the only two people that have ever been my family are gone because my disgusting ex-boyfriend was drunk driving. Then out of nowhere, two complete strangers are coming into my house and telling me I have to move away from my hometown where all my friends are to go live in some random town across the country. So, yeah, I'm being rude to you, because right now I have no idea how to deal with everything that's going on in my life and you're easy targets to take my anger out on."

Karen and Keith stared in silent shock at the girl's outburst. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for breath from traitorous tears rolling down her face. When Karen stepped forward to hug her, Haley pushed her away gently and ran out the front door again as quickly as she could.

* * *

><p>Haley ran. Granted, she had never been the most athletic girl but she ran as fast as she possibly could. She had been doing so for the past twenty minutes and was now vaguely aware of where she was running to. She couldn't feel her legs anymore but Haley continued on with her fast pace until she knew in her heart that she was standing in the spot where her parents were hit.<p>

The abandoned dirt road wasn't that far out of town. It had no street lights for miles and no houses either. Only the locals knew it really existed and most tried to avoid it. Those who travelled on it tended to drive way over the speed limit, and that combined with the winding, continuous curves and sharp turns made up a recipe for disaster. More accidents than Haley could count had happened on this stretch of road in her lifetime, she just never thought her parents would fall victim to the danger

Dropping to her knees in exhaustion and distress, Haley took in her surroundings and saw the specks of her parents' blood all over the road. She picked up a handful of the rocks and dirt, letting it filter slowly through her fingers. Sniffling once, Haley rose from the ground and began walking absentmindedly further down the road until she saw a telephone pole lying broken in half in the ditch. She noticed the smear of black paint on the smaller piece still rooted in the ground.

No wonder her scum bag boyfriend died on impact. He was driving his half million dollar Porsche sports car that offered no protection in a head on collision. Haley gazed intensely at the paint mark until she could no longer bear the image of her parents being taken off life support running through her mind continuously. She turned her back on the ditch and began running quickly again in the direction she had come from, this time knowing exactly where she was headed.

* * *

><p>"Haley, it's Karen again. You've been gone for a few hours and it's starting to get dark. Keith and I are worried sick. Please come back or call me when you get any of my messages." Karen hung up her phone after leaving her tenth message and ran a hand over her face. "If she's not back in the next hour, I'm calling the police."<p>

"Okay, just calm down. She's upset and just needs her space. I'm sure she'll be back soon," Keith tried to sooth his wife.

"I just wish instead of disappearing when she's upset, she'd talk to us."

"Well, would you wanna talk to the two people that are ruining your life about your problems?"

"Do you really think we're ruining her life? I know she thinks so, but I don't need you thinking that, too. I'm trying to do what's best for my niece."

"No, I think we're doing the right thing. I'm just saying, in her mind we are ruining her life, and if you were in her position, the last thing you would do is talk to us."

"I guess you're right. I just wish she didn't hate me already, it's not exactly the best having my own niece hate me the day we meet."

"She doesn't hate you," a voice spoke up from behind them.

Karen and Keith both turned their heads in surprise and saw Haley's friend Jake standing in the doorway to the family room.

"How do you know?"

Jake laughed softly. "Mrs. Roe, I'm Haley's best friend. She tells me just about everything, and when she doesn't, I know exactly what she's thinking and feeling already."

"So she's talked to you about us, then?"

"Nah, not yet. This is one of the times when I just know what's going through her head. Haley doesn't hate you. She just doesn't know what to feel right now. I mean, she had to make the decision to take her parents off life support after having breakfast with them that morning. In her mind, I'm the only family she has left and being forced to move away from me is like being kicked when she's already down. That being said though, Haley is a smart girl, and she definitely knows leaving town where she has all these memories of her parents will be for the best in the long run. So just trust me, Haley doesn't hate you and eventually she'll warm up to both of you."

The couple nodded in thanks at the young man's short speech. "Is there any chance you know where Haley is right now?"

"Yeah, she's actually waiting in my car. She got all your phone calls and asked me to come in and tell you both that she's fine and gonna stay at my house for the night. All her bags are packed in her room and you can pick her up in the morning, she says she'll be ready to go."

"She doesn't wanna stay here on her last night?"

"No. It's too painful for her to be in this house right now. I promise I'll take care of her tonight though, you have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Jake," Karen said tearfully and hugged the teenager. "I'm sorry for taking your best friend from you."

"Don't apologize. It's not like you really have any other choice, right? Besides, if everything goes according to plan, my parents will let me go to college in North Carolina, so I'll be with my best friend again soon," he smiled.

With that, Jake turned and walked slowly out the front door and back to his car. When he opened the door, Haley looked at him gratefully. "Thanks for doing that for me."

"No problem, buddy. They both looked like they were really worried about you. Cut them some slack, Hales, you can't be angry at them for events that are beyond their control. Besides, they are your family now."

Sighing, Haley stared out the window as Jake started driving down the familiar streets of the town. "I know. I'm just scared. I'm moving to a town I've never been to in my life, where I know no one. You'll be across the country and God only knows when I'll be able to see you again. I just, it scares me knowing my whole world is about to change even more than it already has in the past few days."

"I know. You're a strong girl though, Hales. We'll get through this together, no matter how far apart we are."

Haley smiled briefly at him as he parked the car in his extensive driveway. They both exited it and walked up to Jake's bedroom. Not bothering to change from their clothes, Jake and Haley climbed into the large king size bed and Jake opened his arms for Haley to scoot into his embrace. The best friends clung to each other tightly as they gave into sleep and didn't release the fierce grip as they dreamt.

Morning came quickly and out of nowhere, Karen and Keith were set to arrive at Jake's in a matter of minutes. Jake and Haley were sitting silently in his kitchen eating breakfast across from each other. Haley froze when the sound of the door bell echoed through the large house. Jake nodded to himself and sighed. He pushed his chair back and opened the door for Karen and Keith quickly before making his way back to the kitchen.

Haley was putting her dirty dish in the sink as Jake walked back in with her aunt and uncle trailing in behind him.

"Hi, Haley. You ready to go? We've already got all your bags in the car."

She shrugged and nodded mutely. Haley led the group back to the front door and slipped on her shoes. She stood awkwardly until Karen and Keith understood that Jake and Haley needed privacy to say good bye and the two adults exited the home to wait in the car after saying farewell to Jake.

"So, call me when you land, okay?"

Haley merely nodded, knowing that speaking now would only let the flood gates open even faster. As her tears began to spill over Jake moved forward quickly and engulfed her in a tight hug. He kissed her temple and buried his face in her neck. "I love you, Hales. You'll always be my best friend, nothing is gonna change that, you hear me?

He felt Haley nod her head softly and let out a quiet whimper. Pulling away, Jake forced Haley to look him in the eye. "Listen to me. I want you to go to Tree Hill and keep living your life. Don't feel guilty for being happy there, okay? You're parents would want you to keep going and I promise I'll make it out there soon to see you again."

She smiled sadly at him and jumped back into his comforting arms. "I love you so much, Jake. I'm going to miss you more than you know and I'm holding you to that promise to visit soon. I promise to keep living my life if you keep yours to come."

"Deal," Jake said and squeezed her tighter. He rubbed her back up and down softly before finally pulling away. Jake kissed her temple one last time and returned her earlier sad smile. "Alright, get outta here before I decide I need you here too much to let you go."

After hugging one last time, Haley opened the front door to exit the house. She looked back at her now crying best friend before stepping out completely and conveyed her love for him in a single look. She entered the back seat of Keith and Karen's rental car silently and buckled up her seatbelt. She saw Karen turn around and look at her worriedly but ignored the concerned woman and gazed out her window at the passing streets of her hometown.

She continued staring silently out the window until they made it to the airport and headed inside to check in before going to their gate. Every so often Keith or Karen glanced at her sympathetically or some random passer-by would see her tear stained cheeks and sport a confused, weird look on their face at her.

After finally checking in with the airline, they headed to the gate and sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chairs to wait for boarding to begin. Karen and Keith carefully tried to make conversation with the eerily silent and devastated young girl, but she refused to participate. Soon, boarding began and Haley took the window seat in the row of three plush chairs. She closed her eyes after the flight attendants had finished explaining all the emergency procedures. Being her first time flying, Haley was anxious about take off and gripped the armrests tightly while taxiing to the runway and feeling the plane slowing begin lifting its wheels off the ground.

Realizing she was really leaving the only home she had ever known, Haley let the tears pour through her closed eyes freely. After some time, Haley's eyes began to feel increasingly heavy and she soon drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Tree Hill, North Carolina, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for flying with American Airlines."<p>

Haley wiped the sleep in her eyes and unbuckled her seat belt when the passengers of the plane began rising from their seats. After boarding their plane in California, Haley cried for the first hour of the flight. Shortly after that she fell asleep and hadn't woken up since. She tiredly followed Keith and Karen down the narrow aisle to the doors of the plane and all the way to baggage claim. They waited for about fifteen minutes until their bags finally came into view. Keith promptly lifted them off the conveyer belt and began wheeling as many as he could to where family members picked up arrivals, leaving the rest of the bags for Haley and Karen to bring as they followed him.

Karen looked concerned at the young girl as she walked sluggishly beside her to meet Lucas where they had agreed for him to pick them up. "Are you okay, Haley?"

The girl shrugged indifferently and continued to walk silently beside her aunt. Soon, a tall, blond haired man came into view and Haley's first thought was that he was exceptionally good looking. She stood awkwardly off to the side when they finally made it to him and watched Keith and Karen hug their son happily.

"Haley, this is our son, Lucas. Lucas, this is Haley," Karen introduced the two after saying hello to her son.

"Hi, Haley. It's nice to meet you," Lucas said with a smile.

"Yeah, hi," she replied quietly.

Understanding his cousin's shyness, Lucas merely smiled at her again and walked along side her while his parents moved forward in front of them. Haley took a deep breath when they exited the airport and hit fresh air. Tree Hill smelled nothing like California. She scrunched her nose in distaste and frowned slightly. Even though she was from a small town, Tree Hill took small to a whole new level. Not to mention, just about everything about this town was different. After less than five minutes in North Carolina, Haley already hated the unfamiliar territory.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"That's it, I'm waking her up," Karen proclaimed as she rose from the wooden chair at the kitchen table.

Keith and Lucas looked at each other from across the table apprehensively. "Maybe that's not a good idea, mom. Wouldn't it be better to just let her do what she wants right now?"

Karen turned her gaze to her husband when Lucas finished speaking. "What do you think?"

"I think Lucas might be right on this one. We should leave Haley be for a little while."

"Its eleven a.m. and she's been asleep for the past fifteen hours! I'm starting to get worried about her."

"Mom, I'm sure she's fine. I'll go and check on her though, because the last thing she'll want is you nagging her to get up," Lucas teased.

"Ha ha, very funny," Karen responded and glared playfully at her son as he walked out of the room.

Lucas walked softly up the old wooden stairs to Haley's room. The boards creaked with each step he took. He knocked on the bedroom door upon reaching it and entered slowly. He had expected to see his cousin sleeping soundly, but instead saw her curled up in a ball under her covers facing the door with her red rimmed eyes wide open.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were awake already. My mom just sent me to check on you."

Lucas was met with no reply or acknowledgement to show Haley heard him. He walked closer to her and sat on the edge of her bed. "Haley? Are you alright?"

This time, she responded by simply shaking her head slightly.

"Well, I was thinking maybe I could show you around town a bit today. I'm taking today and tomorrow off school and you're supposed to start on Monday. I thought if I introduce you to some of my friends and show you some places we hang out then school would be a little bit easier for you. Do you think you feel up to that?"

"I don't know Lucas, all I feel like doing lately is sleeping."

"It might make you feel better. I know it'll make my mom feel better – she's worried sick about you."

Sighing, Haley sat up and looked intensely at her new cousin. "I don't know if I really wanna feel better right now."

"Then do it for my mom, please? That way she won't be hovering and nagging you to get out of bed. I promise you'll have some fun," he tried to convince with a dashing smile.

"I guess. Give me a few minutes to get dressed. I'll just meet you downstairs."

Lucas nodded and rose from the bed. He glanced back at his sorrowing cousin once before he exited, wishing that there was something he could do to help her through the grieving process. When he made it back to the kitchen where his parents were still sitting at the table he sat down in his previous seat and looked grimly at his anxious mother.

"What? What's wrong with her?"

"Calm down. She's actually not doing too badly. She agreed to let me take her out and show her around town, she's just getting dressed right now."

"Really?" Keith asked surprised.

"Yeah and don't worry, I'm not going to let anything happen to her today."

Karen smiled at her amazing boy. "Thank you for doing this, Lucas."

Instead of objecting and telling his mom that he wasn't taking Haley out because he felt he had to, but because this girl was his family and she would no doubt soon feel more like a sister than a cousin to him and he cared too much about her already to see her hurting, Lucas simply nodded and smiled at his mom softly. His smile widened when he saw that Haley had indeed gotten ready and was trudging down the hall to the kitchen. He stood up immediately and Karen and Keith turned to face her with smiles.

"Good morning, Haley," they chimed together.

"Morning," she mumbled uncomfortably.

"Do you want some breakfast? There's leftover pancakes for you," Karen offered.

"No, I'm not really hungry actually," She quickly directed her gaze to the tall boy that had made his way next to her. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," he said with a smile and wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders.

* * *

><p>"First stop on the Tree Hill tour is Karen's Café," Lucas tried imitating a tour guide.<p>

Haley smiled appreciatively at the boy's attempt to brighten her mood a little. "So, is this your mom's café?"

"Her and my friend Nathan's mom went into business a few years ago and they both own equal parts of the café and an all ages nightclub called Tric."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. Do you wanna go inside? You can meet Deb and I think I see Brooke and Peyton in there too," Lucas suggested.

"I don't know, I doubt your friends would really wanna meet your family's new charity case."

"What? Is that what you think you are to us, Haley?" he asked incredulously.

The girl shrugged and averted her eyes from her tall cousin. "Well it's not like you guys had a choice on whether or not you wanted me. All this shit happened so fast that I was pretty much forced upon you."

"Haley, look at me," Lucas stated sternly. "Under no circumstances do my parents and I think of you as some sort of _charity case_. We weren't forced to take you in either; we did it because you're our family. Regardless of whether or not we had met each other before this tragedy, we're still blood and we'll always look after each other. Don't forget that."

Haley bit her lip to prevent the tears that had formed in her eyes from falling. "Thank you, Lucas," she spoke softly and without hesitation the boy pulled her in for a short hug.

"Don't mention it."

The duo pulled away from each other and stood in awkward silence for a moment, taking in the unexpected emotional turn their minimal conversation had turned to.

"So do you want to head inside now? I promise all three of them will love you."

"Yeah, I guess. Shouldn't your friends be in school though?" Haley said still apprehensive of the idea.

"They both have a free period right now so they usually do something together," he explained and then cocked his head in the direction of the door; silently asking to go in.

Lucas smiled happily at her when she shrugged indifferently and held open the door for her. The over head bells chimed and Haley instantly felt as though the large amount of customers present were all staring at her. She shrunk back meekly behind Lucas when she heard the door close and watched as he began chatting with a middle-aged blonde woman who she assumed to be Karen's business partner Deb. She also noticed that two girls – a blonde and brunette – were eying her curiously. Haley tuned back into the conversation going on in front of her just in time to catch that Lucas was introducing her to Deb.

Deb smiled warmly at her and held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Deb. I've heard a lot about you."

"Hi, I'm Haley," she said quietly.

Deb offered her another kind smile before letting go of her hand. "You two have a seat anywhere you'd like. Brooke and Peyton just sat down over there, I'll be out to take your order in a couple minutes," she said, pointing to the blonde and brunette that Haley had seen staring at them.

Lucas thanked Deb and began leading Haley over to the booth that Brooke and Peyton were sitting across from each other in. He stopped beside the table and smiled down at his two friends.

"Brooke, Peyton, this is my cousin, Haley."

"Hi, I'm Peyton," the blonde spoke up with a soft smile.

"Which makes me Brooke, and you better not forget it!" the brunette said cheerfully.

Haley smiled at both girls. "Hi."

"Do you mind if we sit with you?"

"Sure, go ahead," Peyton told them both and slid over to make room for Haley to sit down when Lucas eagerly sat down next to Brooke.

He immediately dove into conversation with the pretty girl and Haley looked on slightly amused. Peyton nudged her gently to get her attention and Haley turned to look questioningly at her.

"Funny to watch them, isn't it? Lucas has had the biggest crush on Brooke since grade school, same with Brooke."

"They don't know that they both have feelings for each other?"

"I've tried telling them before but they're both too scared to do anything in case it ends badly. I guess they value their friendship too much to try to make a relationship work."

"One of them should say something before it's too late. You never know what could happen," Haley said soberly.

Peyton nodded in agreement, understanding that the girl was now also referring to the accident her parents were involved in. "So what about you. Do you have a boyfriend?" she asked in an attempt to keep her from becoming upset.

"You first."

"Right now, no. I'm kind of seeing this guy named Julian, but it's pretty casual still."

"I don't have one anymore. We broke up a couple weeks ago."

"What happened?"

Haley laughed cynically. "He was a complete asshole. I don't know why I dated him in the first place, but he ended up getting between me and my best friend so I ended it. Not to mention, he's the reason I'm here right now."

"What do you mean?" Peyton asked confused.

"He was driving drunk and hit my parents. He killed them," she said and further clarified as though she needed it to sink in for herself still.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. If I knew I wouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay. I promised myself I wasn't going to cry over anything that's happened anymore, so I'll be fine," Haley assured with a fake smile.

Just then, Deb approached the secluded booth. She apologized about the short wait they experienced and promptly wrote all their orders down on her notepad. She estimated the time they would have to wait to get their food and offered a smile before heading to the kitchen.

Lucas and Brooke seemed to be finished having their own private conversation and were looking at Haley and Peyton to start up a new one.

"So Haley, where did you say you were from?" Brooke finally spoke up.

"It's this small town in California called Wasatch Valley, not too far from San Francisco," she explained.

"Surely it's bigger than Suck Hill though, right?"

"If it is, it's not by very much."

"What did you guys do for fun there?"

Haley laughed at the girl's obvious loathing of small towns. "Not a whole lot. The ocean was close so sometimes Jake and I would go for a day. Other than that, I usually spent a lot of time at Jake's because there was always something to do there."

Brooke visibly perked up significantly at the mention of Jake. "Whose Jake?"

"He's my best friend. I've known him since we were like five. He's basically like my brother."

After that explanation Brooke was uninterested again. Haley fell silent as she listened to Peyton start up a new topic of conversation and Brooke and Lucas immediately piping in. She stayed silent the rest of the meal, ignoring Lucas' concerned gazes he sent every few minutes. Haley was no longer interested in having a tour of Tree Hill; all she really wanted to do was talk to her best friend.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're okay? You've been really quiet since lunch."<p>

"I'm fine, Lucas. Can we just keep doing this tour," she said unenthusiastically.

Lucas sighed and stopped walking. He pointed at a large building beside them. "That's Tree Hill High. It's really not as big as it looks from out here though. This is where all my friends and I go to school and where you start on Monday."

Haley took in the seemingly large building. She noted that although it was much smaller than her old high school, Tree Hill High appeared to be very complicated, judging by its peculiar shape. Normally, she loved school. She excelled in all her classes and looked forward to attending each day. Under these circumstances though, Haley found herself absolutely dreading having to walk into that building everyday beginning on Monday.

The young girl looked away from the boring building to prevent herself from becoming too upset. Lucas noticed the apprehension written on her face and shuffled her down the quiet sidewalk so that the school was out of view. Haley quickly shook off her feelings of dread and attempted a grin.

"Schools aren't all that interesting, where to next?"

"We only have two more places to go, so do you wanna see Tric or the River court first?"

"Tric is your mom's club, right?"

"Yeah."

"We can go there first," Haley decided.

"Alright. Just so you know though, Tric isn't going to be all that interesting at one in the afternoon."

"Is that you trying to say we should just skip it?" Haley asked amused.

Lucas laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, we can go if you really want to. It's just that Tric and the River court are on opposite sides of town and it's a lot of walking. Personally, I'd prefer to just go to the River court, but it's up to you."

"You make a good point, a night club isn't going to be interesting to see right now. I guess we're heading to the River court."

Lucas smiled happily. "It's my favourite place in Tree Hill. I hope you like it."

Haley didn't respond. She took in the various parts of the small town as they walked back passed Karen's Café along the river walk. So far that was her favourite part of Tree Hill. The Cape fear reminded her of the ocean back in California and provided her with a sense of tranquility. The duo walked alongside the river until crossing over a short bridge over railroad tracks. Shortly thereafter a basketball court next to the Cape appeared.

Haley smiled, understanding why this was Lucas' favourite place in Tree Hill. It wasn't exactly a short trip to get to and it was the only thing for a while on this side of the river. It was surrounded by trees and even had a few picnic benches off to the side. As Haley finished surveying the surroundings of the court she came to realize that a group of teenage boys were playing on it.

"Do you know those guys?"

"Yeah, we're all on the basketball team together."

"Why are they here? Your school actually gets out this early?"

Lucas chuckled. "You like school a lot don't you?"

"Why would you say that?" Haley asked confused.

"Well, both times we've seen my friends today; you've asked why they aren't in school. It's just kind of funny that that's one of the first things that comes to your mind."

Haley shrugged. "I do like school, but I'm asking because I'm not really used to people not going to class every day."

Lucas accepted her answer. "I guess it is kind of weird. I'm like you; I like school and don't normally skip. Some of my friends like to though."

"Is that what these guys are doing?"

"Yeah. Why don't I introduce you to them?"

Lucas didn't wait for an answer from the girl before he started guiding her across the grass to the court. They stopped at the edge and waited for the group of guys to notice them. It didn't take long for a goofy brunette to fumble the ball that was passed his way and cause him to look up stupidly and notice the new company.

"Yo, Luke dawg! What up?" he exclaimed loudly and held up his hand for a high five.

Lucas and the two other boys present rolled their eyes. "Just say hi, Tim," Lucas responded and appeased him by returning the high five.

Immediately following, Tim turned his gaze to the petite blonde standing next to his teammate. "Who's this hottie?" he asked while licking his lips in an attempt to be seductive.

Lucas and Haley both glared at the boy. "This is my cousin Haley, Tim. Don't even think about going near her."

"Waita make a good impression, Dim," another boy spoke up. "I'm Julian. Don't mind him; he tries to get with just about any girl he sees."

Haley laughed softly. "Hi, I'm Haley."

Julian nodded and turned to go talk to a sulking Tim by the picnic benches, leaving Lucas and Haley standing with a final brunette boy who had yet to speak.

"Nate, this is my cousin Haley. Haley, this is my friend Nathan Scott," Lucas introduced.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Haley said and outstretched her hand.

"Hey," Nathan replied and took her hand. Their eyes locked upon having sparks shooting up both their arms. Haley gasped quietly when she took in the intensity of the boy's deep blue eyes. She quickly dropped his hand and tried to shake off the weird feelings coursing through her.

Nathan pushed the confusion of what he felt to the back of his mind and cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm, um, sorry about your loss."

Haley's eyes widened in surprise. This guy was the last person she thought would offer condolences to her. "Thanks," she said softly and averted her eyes from his.

Lucas smiled gratefully at his friend. "We should probably go, my mom will be wondering why we're not back yet."

"Okay, talk to you later man," Nathan said. "Bye, Haley."

"Bye," Haley said and allowed Lucas to lead her back the way they came all the way to his house again.

The entire walk home Haley failed to rid her mind of the feeling that ran through her body after shaking Nathan's hand and the image of his piercing blue eyes locking with her deep brown ones. Although she had just met him, Haley found herself curious and wanting to know a whole lot more about Nathan Scott.

* * *

><p>Alright, so I'm going to offer my apologies in advance. Unfortunately I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go up to northern Ontario for two weeks and visit my biological father. I know, not very exciting for me either. If I had it my way, I would be on my lap top 247 writing the next chapters, but my mother refuses to let me bring it because it'll only cause me headaches from him when I get there. I'm going to try my very hardest to write free hand but who knows how well that will go down. That being said, I'm so truly sorry for yet another long delay in updating and I'll hopefully have chapter 5 up by somewhere around the 27th? Can I also add that right now, I'm in a very distraught state over the quickly approaching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 release. I'm going to the premier while I'm up north and cannot wait, I admit it has been distracting me from writing quite a bit. Anyway though, happy reading for the next two weeks guys!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm finally back after two very long weeks in cottage country hell! Luckily I managed to get a far amount of writing down there and now I come to with this chapter! Hope you enjoy guys!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

"Hey! How was your first day? We missed you at lunch."

"Somehow I doubt any of your friends even noticed I wasn't there," Haley muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Lucas asked as he quickened his pace to match Haley's.

"I said it was fine and I wasn't hungry at lunch so I read in the library."

"You didn't have to do that. You could have sat with us even if you weren't eating anything."

"It's fine, Lucas. I didn't feel like being around anyone so just drop it, okay?"

Lucas threw up his hands in surrender. "Alright! I just want you to understand that you're welcome to hang out with me and my friends."

"I get it, Lucas! You've invited me to do stuff with you guys every day for the last three days."

"Yeah, and every time you said that you didn't feel like it," he countered and once again increased his speed to match hers.

"Since when is it a crime to want to be alone?" Haley asked, becoming fed up with her cousin.

"Since you've barely said two words to anyone even though you should be opening up about what happened so you can try to heal and move on."

Haley scoffed in outrage. "You really think you know what's best for me right now, Luke? Don't be so god damn patronizing when you've never been close to being in my situation."

"Okay, I'm sorry. We're all just worried about you. Tell you what, I'll leave you be if you agree to come to the party at Nathan's house on Friday after the basketball game."

"Fine, whatever," she conceded.

"Great!" Lucas exclaimed, extremely pleased with himself.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face before I smack it off."

The smile instantly fell from his face and Lucas slowed down his pace slightly so he was always half a step behind the feisty blonde. He quickly learned in the short time that they had known each other that Haley had a temper on her. She could be a spitfire when she needed to and was definitely not afraid to fight with Lucas already.

Shaking her head as she turned onto the short walkway leading to her new home, Haley swung open the front door and marched right up to her bedroom. To her relief, both Karen and Keith were still at work so she would have some time to herself before receiving the fifth degree about her first day at Tree Hill High. Thinking about it, Haley knew her day really hadn't been that bad. Each of her classes had Lucas or one his friends in it with her so she felt a little less uncomfortable.

Smiling, Haley remembered walking into two of her four classes and seeing Nathan Scott sitting in the back rows. When Nathan saw her timidly walk into the class rooms, he smiled politely at her and gestured to sit in front of him. That had really made her look forward to going to those two particular classes each day. However, in her last period class with Nathan an annoying red headed girl named Rachel seemed to already dislike her. She had made it a point to send her dirty looks from across the room and flirt with Nathan right in front of her.

Haley tried to push thoughts of Rachel and Nathan to the back of her mind. She stuck her ear buds in and turned on her iPod and laid flat on her stomach. Haley sang quietly under breath while she read over her class notes from the day and decided to start on her English homework. Although it was only the beginning of the second month of school, Tree Hill seemed to be a lot farther along in the curriculum than they were in California and she needed to catch up as fast as possible.

* * *

><p>What seemed like hours since Haley had cracked open her English book had really only been forty five minutes. Haley sighed; she really was not getting into Catch-22 right now. Throughout the time she had been trying to start reading the novel she had failed to make it past the second chapter. For the first time in her academic career she just didn't understand. There were already too many characters to keep track of, the conversations between them seemed irrelevant, and the plot was confusing.<p>

Haley shook her head in agitation and ran her hands down her face. A sudden strong knock on her open bedroom door startled her and caused her whole frame to jump. She heard the person chuckle softly and she turned her eyes to them and shot an icy glare. Her face dropped at the sight of Nathan Scott standing in the doorway.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked jokingly after she was silent for a few seconds.

"Oh, yeah, come in," she said, finally snapping out of her daze. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I have plans with Lucas but he's trying to finish up some project and told me to go away until he finished."

"So you come to my room?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you something, but seeing the mood you seem to be in just now I'm second guessing myself."

Haley shrugged indifferently. "Feel free to ask away."

Nathan scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well I noticed in the classes we have together that you understand everything we're doing pretty well so far. It's no secret that I'm not the smartest guy out there and I was just wondering if-"

"If your best friend's new housemate would do all your home work for you?" Haley cut in angrily. "I get it, Nathan. You're a jock that sucks at school and need to keep your grades up in order to be allowed to be on the basketball team. The answer is no, though. I refuse to be walked all over and help you skate by just to be able to play on a team."

"What? No, Haley you got it wrong, that's not what I was gonna ask!" he proclaimed.

"Sure it wasn't," she scoffed and stood up from her bed, walking over to the door. Haley pulled the door open wider than it already was. "You can go now."

Nathan stared at the girl in shock but obliged in her request and exited the room. He tried to catch her eyes once he was in the hallway again but she had already slammed the door in his face. He sighed dejectedly and walked back into Lucas' room, not caring if he was finished his project yet or not.

No more than an hour later Haley heard another knock sound on her bedroom door. She ignored it and continued to focus on the calculus homework that she had moved on to. The door creaked open slowly and Nathan poked his head in.

"Uh, hey. Me and Lucas are going down to the River court and he wanted me to ask if you wanted to come."

"Why couldn't he ask me himself?"

"I don't know. He said something about you getting mad at him if he asked you to do something with us?" Nathan said unsurely.

"Well, the answer is no again. I don't feel like watching you two play basketball for hours," she clipped.

"Alright, suit yourself," Nathan conceded and began to back out of the room. He stopped just before he was completely out the door and re-entered. "Haley, about earlier-"

"It's fine Nathan," she cut him off.

"No, it's not. You misunderstood what I was going to ask. I wasn't going to ask you to just do my homework for me or whatever. I wanted to know if you'd be willing to help me a bit. You know, like tutor me?" he finished quietly, clearly embarrassed.

Haley looked at him in surprise. "Oh. Well, what subjects to you need help with?"

"Pretty much everything. I'm an idiot."

Walking across the room to him, Haley hesitantly put her hand onto his arm. "I'm sure you're a lot smarter than you think, Nathan. I'll help you though. Just come over after school tomorrow and we can start then."

"No."

"What?"

"We can't do it here."

"Why not?" she asked confused.

"I-I don't want anyone to know that I'm getting tutored. We have to do it somewhere no one will see us."

Haley nodded sympathetically. "Okay, how about we meet tomorrow morning on the River walk before school?"

"What time?"

"I don't know, how's seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. See ya tomorrow bright and early then," he said and directed a rare but dazzling smile at Haley.

"Mm-huh," Haley responded, mesmerized by the happiness displayed on his face.

"This really means a lot to me. Thank you, Haley," he said sincerely and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Haley stood rooted on the spot, incredibly confused as to how a simple smile from Nathan Scott could have her turn into a pile of goo in a second. Suddenly feeling an enormous want to spend more time with Nathan, Haley unglued her feet from the soft carpet and bolted to her bedroom door. She yanked it open just as Nathan began moving down the stairs. He stopped and turned back to look at her curiously.

"I change my mind, I guess I'll come with you guys," she said timidly.

Nathan smirked contentedly and waited for her to catch up to him. They walked down the stairs side by side and met Lucas in the kitchen. He looked pleasantly surprised to see Haley walk in behind Nathan but thought better of saying anything about it. The trio left the quiet house and hopped into Nathan's sports car.

It didn't take long to arrive at the court and Haley saw that they weren't alone. Julian and Tim were already playing one on one and Brooke and Peyton sat atop the picnic bench off to the side of the court talking and only glancing at the boys periodically. All their heads turned when Nathan's car pulled up and parked. Haley shyly followed Lucas and Nathan over to where the group was gathering. Although she had already met each of them, she still felt slightly uncomfortable around Lucas' friends.

Haley found herself walking back to the picnic bench alongside Brooke and Peyton as the four boys started playing their game. She watched them move back and forth across the court intently as she half listened to Brooke and Peyton dive back into their previous conversation.

"So Haley, how was your first day at Tree Hill High?" Peyton's question made her turn to the two girls she was sitting with.

"It was alright, I guess. Almost everyone was really nice."

"_Almost _everyone?" Peyton asked curiously.

"Yeah. There's this one girl in my last period class, her name's Rachel. All I did in the class was talk to Nathan once and then she was a total bitch to me for no reason."

Brooke laughed softly and shook her head. "Don't let that hag Rachel bother you. She was probably jealous that Nathan doesn't think you're an annoying freak like he does her. Rach-hoe is obsessed with Nathan and is convinced that he wants to sleep with. She even tries to hook-up with him when he's drunk and he always blows her off."

"I take it you don't like her either?"

Again, Brooke laughed. "Peyton and I both hate the bitch. Ever since she transferred in sophomore year she's been trying to take over the cheerleading squad and steal my captain position. She's also the most annoying girl I've ever met, I just can't stand her."

"Anyway though, do you have any good classes?" Peyton changed the subject.

"They're okay. I have English first period with Lucas and Julian, then calculus with you two, chemistry with Nathan and Tim, lunch, and history with Nathan."

"Well at least you know someone in every class."

"Yeah, it's good. I'm just worried about catching up in all my classes."

"Why, you can't be that far behind?"

"I actually am. Either we were moving slowly in California or you guys move through the material really quickly, but I haven't started any of the stuff you're doing here," Haley shrugged.

"That sucks. I'm right up to speed in all my classes and still barely understand what's going on," Brooke commented.

The other two girls laughed and Peyton shook her head at her friend. "That's because you don't pay attention in class Brooke. You're too busy day dreaming about Lucas."

"Kinda like you with Julian, huh P. Sawyer?" Brooke retorted.

Peyton shrugged unabashedly and the three girls giggled together. They briefly turned their attention to boys' intense game before diving back into animated girl talk again. Haley smiled to herself happily, feeling like she could have real friendships with the two girls beside her and become close with them really quickly.

* * *

><p>"Good morning," Haley greeted Keith and Karen as she walked into the kitchen.<p>

Her aunt and uncle offered a greeting of their own and smiled happily at her cheerful mood. They watched as Haley grabbed a banana and headed to the door with her bag slung over her shoulder. "Haley, where are you going?" Karen asked puzzled.

"Oh, I just need some air so I was gonna take a walk and then just head to school after that."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't want you to get lost."

"I think Tree Hill is a small enough town that Haley will be fine, honey," Keith pointed out and Haley smiled gratefully at him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she reassured quickly and bolted out the door before either of them could stop her.

It took Haley only ten minutes to arrive at the exact spot Nathan had told her to meet him at last night before dropping Lucas and Haley back off at their house after the River court. She leaned back comfortably against the wooden support rails and checked her watch, 7:02. Nathan should be there any minute now.

Fifteen minutes later, Nathan's form finally came into view on the River walk. When he finally made it to Haley he offered her a dazzling smile much like the one he had given her the previous night. "Hey," he greeted and began leading her to a small wooden table a short distance away.

"You're late," was Haley's only response to his greeting.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked getting us a little breakfast," he apologized and held up a small box of Cracker Jacks.

"That's your idea of breakfast?" Haley laughed incredulously. "No thanks, I already ate anyway."

"Suit yourself, it's the breakfast of champions," he replied and took a seat opposite her at the table.

Haley shook her head. "Just don't be late again, okay? I'm doing this as a favour to you. I don't want to waste my time because you can't be bothered to actually be on time, mister big shot basketball star."

"Alright!" Nathan held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again, okay? For he record though, I don't think I'm better than you or something just because I play a sport. People just think I'm like that because that's how I've always been told to act by my dad."

Haley looked at him stunned. She had no reply to his short speech and resorted to cracking open her chemistry text book. "Before we even start, tell me how much you know."

"Pretty much nothing. I don't understand anything that any of my teachers are saying," Nathan admitted.

"Alright, so we'll start with the basics then," Haley said and jumped right into explaining the most basic aspects of chemistry she could think of.

Over half an hour later, Haley found herself making headway with explaining physical and chemical properties and reactions. Nathan seemed to be following what she was saying and asked questions to clarify every so often. She smiled at him when he successfully stated the difference between qualitative and quantitative physical properties and glanced at her watch.

"It's almost eight o' clock. We should probably head to school now."

"Yeah, sure," Nathan replied and the twosome began packing up their books. They walked to Nathan's car together that he had parked further down the boardwalk. "So, same time and place tomorrow then, right?"

"Yep. Don't be late this time though."

"I promise, I won't be," he confirmed and they both hopped into the car when they reached it. Nathan started the engine and they cruised down the streets of Tree Hill, quickly making it to the high school.

Nathan smoothly parked his car and they exited it together. Lucas spotted them from across the parking lot and made his way over to them.

"Hey! I thought my mom said you were walking to school, Haley?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I was, but Nathan saw me on his way here and offered me a ride."

Lucas accepted her reply and Nathan nodded at her appreciatively when his friend had turned his head. The trio walked into the school and met up with Brooke and Peyton as well as Tim and Julian along their way to their lockers.

After only several short days in Tree Hill, Haley found herself quickly forming friendships with Lucas' group of friends and felt herself being included with them. Last night at the River court she had a lot of fun just hanging out with all of them and they all seemed to not pity her because of what happened with her parents. She was beginning to feel comfortable and more at home in the small town. These feelings of happiness however were not failing to block out her ever present feelings of guilt for being happy when her parents had died only just over a week before.

Having friends and being included did not stop her from thinking about Jake and her other few friends back in Wasatch either. And it definitely did not stop her from crying herself to sleep every night for the past week and a half.

Walking down the hall with her new group of friends, Haley suddenly became very aware of how fake her newfound happiness really was. After that, she just couldn't wait to finish school for the day and find some way to make herself feel better.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Friday night had come quickly and Haley now found herself sitting with her aunt and uncle in the Tree Hill High gym watching Lucas, Nathan, Tim, and Julian, along with the rest of the basketball team crush their opponents. Throughout the week, Haley had been tutoring Nathan every morning for as long as they could before heading to school together. She could tell that Keith, Karen, and Lucas were becoming suspicious of her early morning activities but so far none of them had mentioned anything to her. Haley had quickly discovered that her favourite part of the day was most often her sessions with Nathan. The more time they spent together, the more they got to talk with each other. Nathan acted differently when it was just the two of them together than when it was the whole group.

Along with spending time with Nathan more, Haley was also taking more time to hang out with Lucas' other friends. They had all expressed that they already consider her a part of the group and look forward to getting to know her even better. Even though she had only known them for about a week and a half, Haley believed their sentiments and felt like they were her friends too.

Monday after getting home from school, she called Jake for the first time since moving to Tree Hill and spoke with him about her feelings of guilt over being happy. He seemed excited to finally hear from her and tried his best to help quash her guilt. He ensured her countless times that her parents would want her to be happy and move on with her life. Deep down Haley knew her best friend was right and she expressed her love and thanks to him before ending their conversation.

Talking to Jake made Haley realize just how much she missed him after only a week. He promised her that he would try to make it out to Tree Hill for Thanksgiving or sometime sooner if he found the time. In her mind, the holiday that was a month away, could not come any faster. She couldn't wait to finally see Jake again and introduce her to her new world on the east coast.

Haley cheered loudly when she watched Lucas slam dunked the basketball roughly and hung onto the basket for a few extra seconds before jumping back into the game. No wonder they already had an after party planned, from what she was seeing it was hard to believe that Tree Hill high ever lost a basketball game. Haley's eyes then soon honed in on Nathan's running form. He was sweating profusely and his sculpted muscles were bulging in all the right places. The more time she spent with him, the more difficult it was becoming to remain ignorant to his charm and good looks. Just as she was drifting off into dreamland about Nathan, Karen spoke up form beside her.

"So are you going to this party at Deb's beach house after tonight's game with Lucas, Haley?"

"Yeah, I think it'll be fun."

Karen smiled. "Just make sure you don't drink too much, okay?"

"Don't worry Aunt Karen, I'm not a big drinker," she assured.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you? You can tell me the truth Haley, Keith and I won't be mad."

"No, Aunt Karen, I'm not a liar either."

"So then you'll tell me the truth about what you've been doing when you leave every morning an hour and a half before school starts?"

"Just doing someone a favour," Haley shrugged and tried to pay attention to the game and end the conversation with her aunt.

"Who?" Karen asked intrigued.

Haley sighed. She knew her aunt wasn't going to stop until she knew what was going on. "Nathan."

Karen grimaced. "I know you're a smart girl, Haley and don't get me wrong, I love Nathan like he's one of my own, but I know the kind of boy he is. The last thing I want for you is to get sucked in by his charm and end up pregnant or heartbroken."

Haley's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe Karen was bringing this up at all, let alone at a basketball game with hundreds of people around. At the thought of sleeping with Nathan she began to blush profusely before she dove into denying Karen's assumption. "Trust me Aunt Karen; I do not plan on sleeping with Nathan. I'm just helping him with his school work. You know, like tutoring him?"

"Oh," Karen said and visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "Well... that is good to know then," she finished lamely, feeling foolish for making her earlier speech.

Haley nodded but remained silent. She allowed herself to tune back into the basketball game and attempt to follow what exactly was going on. By the time it finished, she had been quite unsuccessful, only understanding that the Ravens won by 27 points.

Haley filed out of the bleachers behind Karen and Keith and waited for Lucas with a scattered out group of other parents. After fifteen minutes, Lucas emerged from the locker room alongside Nathan. The two boys spotted them and walked over.

"Great game boys!" Keith said upon their arrival.

"Thanks, Dad,"

"Thanks, Keith," they both said at the same time.

"So you three are headed to the beach house for the night, right?" Karen questioned.

"Yeah, I already told Lucas that I can give him and Haley a ride and then I'll drive them back into town tomorrow."

"Well in that case, we'll get going. Have fun tonight, kids," Karen said with a smile and left the gym with Keith.

"Are you guys ready to go then?" Lucas asked once his parents had left.

"Yeah, let's go," Nathan said and the trio headed out to his car. Haley was silent the entire ride out to the beach. She had no idea what to expect of this party. From what she heard, almost everyone went to Tree Hill basketball parties and they had the ability to get pretty wild. She was just hoping that nothing got too out of hand.

* * *

><p>Pulling up into the paved driveway of the large beach house, Haley was immediately taken aback. She could hear the loud music pumping out of the house. She saw a few people already passed out on the front lawn, while some others were making out heavily around the property. Haley's eyebrows rose in surprise at the scene, but also that Lucas and Nathan seemed completely unfazed by what they saw. She shook off her shock quickly and followed them in exiting the car.<p>

Entering the beach house, Haley saw what had to be almost the entire school gathered in one lavishly decorated home. The high ceilings and expensive furniture made Haley gape as she tried to fathom how expensive everything in this house likely was. Tearing herself away from the decor, Haley realized that the occupants of the house were cheering and gathering around Nathan, Lucas, and by association, herself as well. Everyone was trying to clap the two boys on the back and she was becoming just slightly claustrophobic.

"Thirty two points, fifteen assists, and twelve rebounds! You're the man, Nathan!" someone from the crowd yelled.

Nathan smirked and continued walking alongside Lucas and Haley. The crowd soon dispersed after fawning over the two stars and they found themselves in the kitchen. They each grabbed a signature red party cup off the counter and filled it with beer from a keg located in the corner of the room. From there, they were quickly able to spot the rest of their friends in the next room talking and laughing in a corner. It appeared Brooke had gotten the idea to dance on a table in the centre of the room, much to Lucas' chagrin. Many of the boys in the room and gathered around her and were cheering for her to keep going.

Lucas' jaw tightened when one of the guys dared to try to touch Brooke. He marched over to the table and shoved his way through the group. Grabbing Brooke's hand roughly, he pulled her off the table and over to the safety of their group that was laughing hysterically at the scene. Upon seeing Lucas, the guys eyeing Brooke immediately backed off and slinked into other rooms around the house.

"You're such a party pooper, Luke! I was having fun," Brooke exclaimed and started to pout.

"Find some other way to have fun. Preferably one that doesn't involve a bunch of other guys," Lucas told her.

Brooke stuck her tongue out at him defiantly and turned her back to him, starting up a conversation with Peyton about how annoying he was. Peyton laughed at her friend, obviously not drunk enough yet to join in on hating Lucas.

"Hey, why don't we play Never Have I ever?" Julian suggested out of the blue and everyone agreed enthusiastically.

Peyton smirked deviously. "Alright I'll go first. Never have I ever gotten caught streaking across the quad," she said looking pointedly at Brooke.

Brooke shrugged unabashedly and took a sip of her drink. Next to her, Lucas also took an embarrassed sip of his beer. "It was her idea," he claimed pointing at Brooke.

"Shut up," she smacked him playfully. "You know you wanted to do it just as much as I did!"

"Yeah, that was until Whitey showed up!"

Everyone busted at laughing as Brooke grimaced and nodded quickly. "That was bad," she agreed soberly.

"I'll go next," Julian said after they had spent a few minutes laughing at Brooke and Lucas' demise. "Never have I ever worn a dress."

Unsurprisingly, Brooke, Peyton, and Haley all drank. However, Tim took what he thought was a discrete drink. They all stared at him laughing. "What the hell, Tim?"

"Oh come on, it was my sister's fault! She wanted me to play dress up!" he defended.

Everyone was still laughing and shaking their heads. If they thought about it, Tim wearing a dress wasn't really a surprise. That boy had got into all kinds of crazy situations over the years.

"Alright then, moving on, Lucas said. "Never have I ever-"

"Oh my God, you guys are playing I Never? I love this game!" a shrill voice exclaimed. "Can I play?" the blonde girl asked as she approached the group with Rachel at her side.

"You can play, Bevin, but that whore can't," Brooke answered. Bevin was on the cheerleading squad with Brooke and Peyton. She was known to be a ditz and hung out with Rachel a lot. Despite her poor choice in friends, Bevin was a nice girl that got along really well with Brooke and Peyton, and also had a bit of a thing for Tim.

"Please let her play, Brooke? I don't wanna ditch Rach."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't need her permission to play," she said and took a seat as close to Nathan as she could be. Bevin ignored the comment and sat next to Tim.

"Well, I was just about to go, but one of you two can instead," Lucas offered.

"I'll go," Rachel volunteered. She looked around the group and locked her eyes on Haley. She smiled fakely at her. "Never have I ever had my daddy be so drunk off his ass that he wraps his car around a telephone poll and then have my new family hate me."

The whole circle was silent. Rachel smirked at Haley and nodded at her. "Drink up."

Haley stared her down. As hurt as she was by the comment and as much as she wanted to breakdown and cry, Haley wasn't going to let the red head win. "Never have I ever been such a vindictive bitch that everyone in the entire town wants me to get hit by a truck," she said and stood up. Haley placed her drink down on the coffee table in the centre of the circle the group formed, spilling some of it. Imitating the red head's action, Haley nodded at her. "Drink up." She turned and walked straight out the back door of the beach house and down the dock onto the beach.

As soon as she had disappeared, Brooke leapt from her seat. "You're a bitch."

Rachel stood up laughing. "What are you gonna do about, Brookie?"

In a heartbeat Brooke had thrown her drink on the girl. "That is for being a bitch." Brooke swung her arm back and slapped Rachel across the face. "And that is for trying to upset my friend. Now I think it's time you get your insecure, skank ass out of this house, right now!" she yelled and pointed to the door.

Rachel stared at her in shock. She shook it off quickly and glared at the girl. "I'm not going anywhere," she said and walked off with Bevin following her meekly.

"Haley..." Lucas trailed off as he suddenly remembered that his cousin ran out.

"I got it, Luke," Nathan said and followed the path she took out of the house. It didn't take him long to see a lone figure sitting on the beach with her head in her hands. "Hey," Nathan said and sat down next to her.

Haley sniffled twice and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Don't try to act all strong in front of me, Haley," he told her. "By the way, if it makes you feel any better, Brooke threw her drink on Rachel and bitch slapped her."

Haley laughed softly. "That actually does make me feel a little better."

Nathan laughed as well and wrapped an arm around her when he noticed her shivering. "I can't believe she said that about my dad," she whispered.

"Hey, you and I, and everyone in your life that matters know that is the farthest thing from the truth. Don't let what other people think affect you, okay? If we did that, we'd all hate ourselves."

"And what about what she said about Karen, Keith, and Lucas?"

Nathan scoffed. "Don't give me that, Hales. You know for yourself that that isn't true at all either. You can't honestly sit here and tell me you don't know that Karen and Keith already think of you as a daughter and Lucas as though you're his sister."

Haley shrugged. "I know, but sometimes I can't help but question it. Realistically they don't have to do anything for me. They could go to whoever it is and tell them I'm too much to handle and I'd be shipped off somewhere else just like that."

Nathan rubbed her arm soothingly. "That's never going to happen, I promise," he whispered reassuringly.

Haley nodded in acceptance and rested her head on Nathan's broad shoulder. He pulled her in a bit closer to him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Thank you, Nathan."

"You don't have to thank me for anything I do for you, Hales. I'm doing it because I want to."

After sitting closely in silence for a few minutes, Nathan noticed Haley was shivering even more and promptly stood up, pulling her with him. "Come on, let's head back in."

Haley obliged and followed him back up to the house. When they reached their friend again, everyone rushed to Haley to make sure she was okay still. Haley assured them she was fine and smiled at Nathan discretely in thanks. He smiled back at her and made sure to not leave her side until Brooke and Peyton insisted she dance with them. At that, he grudgingly let her go and started downing drink after to drink to quash his questioning thoughts over why he had felt so fiercely protective over Haley. He didn't quite understand why he felt the need to tell her he wouldn't let anything happen to her or why he felt uneasy watching her dance with guys around her. Nathan merely continued to drink for the rest of the night and tried to lose himself his surroundings.

* * *

><p>The party had finally wound down now. Most people had gone home or passed out somewhere in the beach house now and Haley found herself alone again. She had seen Lucas and Brooke go up to bed together, a regular occurrence according to Peyton. Peyton had gone off somewhere with Julian a while ago and she hadn't seen either of them since, but she really didn't want to think what her two friends were doing. As for Nathan, after he came to talk to her on the beach, he hadn't been around much after she went to dance with Brooke and Peyton, trying to talk with his other teammates and socialize with the other partygoers.<p>

Haley wasn't really tired yet and had decided to clean up the house a bit to save whoever was responsible for cleaning up the mess tomorrow a bit of time. She was throwing empty cups in a trash bag when she heard a loud thud come from the hallway.

Curious as to what it was, Haley walked in the direction of the noise and immediately wished she hadn't upon rounding the corner. She saw Rachel and Nathan pressed tightly up against each other, making out heavily. Nathan was pinned against the wall as Rachel ran her hands all up his chest. She heard Nathan grunt and watched as he began feeling Rachel up.

"I know you think I'm sexy, Nate," Rachel panted. "Take me upstairs and have your way with me."

Nathan grunted again and pulled her closer to him. Haley saw that his eyes opened and locked with Haley's brown ones. He stared at her for what felt like hours before looking away and closing them again. He hoisted Rachel up in his arms sloppily and carried her up the stairs to an empty bedroom. Haley stood still as her eyes started to water. She couldn't believe that Nathan was actually going to sleep with that bitch after what she had said to Haley earlier.

Had Nathan just said those things on the beach to make her forget what Rachel said? Did he even care at all? Haley was so hurt and confused over what she had just witnessed; she didn't know what to do. What she really wanted was to go home and never talk to Nathan again. Instead though, she dropped the garbage bag on the floor and shuffled quietly up the stairs and to an empty bedroom where she fell into a fitful sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Wow you guys, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it really got my fingers moving! All your feedback was amazing and I hope you gusy enjoy this chapter as much as you seemed to the last one!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

"Hey, Haley, wake up," someone said and shook her shoulder gently.

Rousing from her sleep, Haley's eyes fluttered open and she was staring directly into the dark blue eyes of Nathan Scott. Flashbacks of what she had witnessed in the hallway the previous night immediately entered her mind. She visibly recoiled at the sight of him and she could see the hurt flash over her face.

"What do you want?" she asked icily.

Nathan winced at the harsh tone. "Listen, Haley. I'm so sorry for what you saw last night, but you need to know that that's as far as it got. Rachel wanted it to go farther but I felt like I couldn't do that to you.

"You couldn't do that to me? You could knowingly make out with her and carry her up to your bedroom right in front of me, but behind closed doors you couldn't do anything more?" she asked incredulously. Shaking her head she turned away from him. "Just go away, Nathan. I can't even look at you right now."

Nathan opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it when the bedroom door opened and Lucas appeared. "Oh, you finally found what room she was in. We've been looking for you, Hales."

"Why?"

"Nathan's giving us a ride home now."

Haley sent a glare to the raven haired boy who was looking annoyed at Lucas. "Great. I can't wait to get out of here."

Lucas looked confused at her eagerness to leave the beautiful beach house but decided against questioning her. He watched as she leapt out of the bed and quickly followed him down the stairs and to Nathan's car. The ride was silent the entire time and he couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between Nathan and Haley on the beach yesterday night. Pulling up into his driveway, Lucas promptly exited the car and thanked Nathan. His suspicions grew of the other two when Haley made a move to get out of the car as well and Nathan halted her. She signalled for Lucas to go inside and sat back into her seat.

"I really am sorry about last night, Haley," Nathan apologized sincerely.

Haley scoffed disbelievingly. "Whatever, Nathan."

"I am! Let me make it up to, please? I'll take you out for a nice dinner tonight."

"You really are pathetic. You think you can take me out to dinner and buy my forgiveness?"

"No, that's not what I want to do! I just wanna show you how sorry I am for hurting you."

"You did more than hurt me. You betrayed me by hooking up with my sworn enemy."

"I told you; I didn't hook up with Rachel!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, well in my book, making out with someone and getting as close as you did to hooking up with her is the same thing as hooking up."

Nathan leaned his elbows in the steering wheel and put his head in his hands in frustration. "Please, just let me take you out dinner tonight. I promise I'll make it up to," he begged.

"Fine," Haley conceded after being quiet for a few moments.

Nathan smiled victoriously. "Okay, I'll pick you up at seven then."

"Sure," Haley said stubbornly and quickly hopped out of the car and slammed the door. As she walked into her house, she saw that Lucas appeared to be waiting patiently for her in the kitchen.

"What was that about?" he asked upon seeing her enter the room.

"Nathan was an ass last night and he wanted to apologize I guess."

Lucas looked surprised. "What did he do?"

"I saw him making out with Rachel."

Lucas' eyes widened even more than they had. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope," Haley said, accentuating the 'p' noise. "He's taking me out to dinner tonight to make up for it."

"You're not going," Lucas said quickly.

"What? I'm gonna go if I want to go, Lucas"

"No, Haley. I can't believe my best friend would actually hook up with Rachel after what she said to you. He's like a brother to me and everything, but I can't let you go out with him. I won't let him hurt you any more than he has now."

Despite her best effort not to, Haley smiled at Lucas' over protectiveness. "Thanks for looking out for me, Luke, but I think I can handle Nathan. He was practically begging for my forgiveness and as pissed as I am at him, I have to give him a chance."

"You're too good of a person, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do. Let's just hope agreeing to this dinner doesn't come back to bite me in the ass."

Lucas laughed softly and Haley began leaving the kitchen to go up to her room. Turning back before fully leaving, Haley looked Lucas in the eye. "Do me a favour and don't tell anyone else about this dinner or what Nathan did, please."

"Why?" Lucas asked confused.

"I just don't want anyone to know until I get a chance to actually talk to Nathan and yell at him first," she winked.

Lucas nodded in understanding. "Gotcha. I won't tell anyone then, don't worry."

"Thanks, Luke," Haley said and left the room, heading up to her bedroom.

Lucas nodded and watched her walk away. He was seething at Nathan knowing that he had the audacity to hook up with Rachel after the way she behaved. He was going to keep his word to Haley and not tell anyone else in the group about anything that happened, but Lucas was already plotting his confrontation with his friend. There was no chance in hell anyone was going to hurt his cousin like that and get away with it.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Haley flopped on her bed with a huff. She was now coming to realize how few dressy clothes she owned. Granted, Nathan hadn't told her exactly where he was going to be taking her but she could only assume it would be the fanciest, most expensive restaurant he could possibly take her to. Haley knew from experience how guys like Nathan operated, when they screwed up all they could think to do was try to buy you back into their favour. Just as she was about to go back to her closet to look for an outfit her bedroom door creaked open and Lucas peaked his head in.<p>

"Just who I need!" she proclaimed sweetly.

Looking suspicious Lucas walked further into the room. "What is it?"

"I need help picking out an outfit."

"Wait, you want _my _help picking out an outfit for a dinner with Nathan?" Lucas asked confused.

"Is that not what I just said, Luke? You're a guy, plus you've known Nathan for a long time, what do you think I should wear?"

Lucas scratched the back of his head unsurely. "I don't know? A dress, I guess."

Haley nodded and pulled three different dresses off their hangers and laid them out flat on her bed. "Which one do you like best?"

"That one," Lucas said as he pointed to a black dress with an empire waist that ended just above Haley's knees.

"What about shoes? Heels or flats?"

"Does it really matter, Haley?"

"Yes! It matters a lot."

"Fine, heels then."

Haley smiled at her cousin. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. I was just coming up to tell you that my mom and dad are going to see a movie and then going to dinner at a friend's house so we'll be on our own for the night. Since you're going to dinner with Nathan, I was gonna go to Brooke's house later on if you're cool with that."

"Fine with me," Haley confirmed and turned to her bed to examine her outfit choice, laying out possible jewellery to wear beside her dress. Lucas took that as his queue to leave before she started asking him more about stuff he knew nothing about.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang and Lucas looked at the stairs to see if Haley would come down to answer it herself. After he hadn't heard her bedroom door open for a few moments Lucas assumed she hadn't heard the bell and stood up from his spot on the couch and walked to the door. He pulled it open and Nathan stood on the other side in a pair of nice jeans and a button up shirt. He was holding a bouquet of purple wildflowers and had a look of sincerity on his face. Lucas grunted at the sight of him and pulled the door open wider and walked quickly back to the den. He heard Nathan following right behind him and gestured for his friend to sit on the sofa opposite him.<p>

"Uh, is Haley around?" Nathan asked after Lucas had been staring him down for a minute.

"She's upstairs getting ready for your guys' dinner."

"Oh. She told you about it?"

"Yeah. She also told me about how much of an asshole you were last night," Lucas said testily.

"Look man, I really am sorry. I'm trying to make it up to her."

"That still doesn't make it okay, Nathan! Not in my mind, at least. You should know that if you do anything to hurt Haley like that again, I'll kick your ass. Best friend or not, Haley is my family and I won't stand for her to be treated like shit."

"You don't have to worry, Luke. If I do something as stupid as that again, I'll kick my own ass."

Lucas chuckled. "You're such an idiot, man."

Nathan shook his head in disbelief of himself. "I know. I don't understand what was going through my mind."

Lucas shrugged and got up from the couch again. "I'm gonna go tell Haley you're here," he said and started up the stairs. He knocked on Haley's door before opening it. "Hey, Nathan's here, he's waiting downstairs for you."

Haley smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Luke," she said and went to follow him back down the stairs.

Lucas put his arm out when she made a move to pass him. "You look beautiful, Hales."

She smiled at him again and merely nodded in thanks. Lucas smiled back and wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders and guided her to the den. Nathan promptly stood up from the couch when she entered and gawked at her. "Wow. You look amazing."

Haley shrugged. "I try."

Both boys laughed softly and Nathan cocked his head in the direction of the door. "Wanna get going?"

"Yeah, sure," Haley said and let Nathan guide her out the door. He walked beside her to the passenger side door and opened it for him. "And people say chivalry is dead," she teased him lightly as she got into the car.

Nathan chuckled and walked quickly to the driver side door and sat down. He started the car and began driving to their destination. "So are you going to tell me where we're going before we get there?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

Haley pouted slightly. "I hate surprises though!"

"That's too bad then. You're gonna have to just suck it up, I guess."

Haley stuck her tongue out him rebelliously. "That really makes me want to tell you now," Nathan joked.

"Whatever," Haley said and leaned back into her seat. She watched the scenery pass them by outside in silence.

The pair arrived at Nathan's restaurant of choice a few minutes later. Haley made a move to get out of the car but Nathan quickly stopped her and hopped out of the car. He ran around to her side and opened the door for her, giving her a gentlemanly smile when she took his proffered hand.

"The Market Street Docks Restaurant? Very nice, Mr. Scott," Haley complimented his choice.

"I figured I couldn't go wrong here. In case you haven't realized, docks are our thing," he winked.

"Docks are our thing because I tutor you on one every morning?" she asked confused.

"Exactly," Nathan said. "We spend pretty much all our time together on the docks. Why not keep that going?"

Haley nodded. "I see your point."

Nathan smiled victoriously. So far, so good. Haley seemed to be in a lot better of a mood towards him than she was this morning. Hopefully she stayed this way through dinner and his plans afterwards. He linked his arm with Haley's and led her into the restaurant. It was elegantly decorated, but too fancy. He didn't want to just take her to some fancy pants restaurant where the cheapest thing was fifty dollars and expect her to be so impressed that she forgave him. That wasn't how Haley operated and he knew that.

Nathan and Haley were immediately seated by the hostess at a small table close to the water. They started perusing their menus quietly. Shortly thereafter a waitress approached and took their food and drink orders. She walked away and Nathan started laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?"

"You. Are you seriously getting mac n' cheese?"

"Uh, duh. It's the food of the gods!" Haley proclaimed.

Nathan scoffed. "Yeah, if the gods were five year olds."

"Oh, whatever, mister, I'll have the prime rib with a lobster tail on the side," Haley said imitating Nathan's deep voice.

"Hey! Don't hate on prime rib!" Nathan defended good naturedly and licked his lips at the thought of his favourite food.

Haley giggled and the two fell into a comfortable silence. Minutes later, their waitress approached their table again with their plates of food in hand. She set them down in front of Nathan and Haley and walked away.

As they ate their meals they bantered back and forth playfully. Neither had brought up the actual reason for the dinner, much to Nathan's satisfaction. Thankfully, Haley seemed to be having a good time and in a really good mood, he hoped she was starting to forget about how angry she was at him. Out of nowhere they heard a familiar loud voice coming from down the boardwalk just outside the restaurant. Nathan and Haley looked at each other in confusion and began looking around for their friend who they knew was around somewhere.

"Yo, Nate, Haley!" Tim exclaimed and came sauntering over to their table with a few other guys that Haley didn't recognize.

"Hey, Tim," they both greeted and Nathan nodded his head at the other guys as well.

"Are you guys like on a date or something?" Tim as goofily.

"No," Nathan replied quickly. "Me and Haley on a date? That's ridiculous, Tim. We're just having dinner."

"Alright, whatever you say dawg. It sure looks like a date though."

"It's not, Tim," Nathan assured again.

Tim shrugged and accepted his answer. He seemed rather uninterested in the conversation now and said his good -byes to his two friends and walked away with the other guys with him. When they were out of sight Nathan turned his gaze back on Haley. "Sorry about that. Tim has a tendency to butt in where he isn't wanted."

"Actually, I don't mind."

"Okay, then why does it seem like you're pissed off about something?" he asked uneasily.

Haley stared hardly at Nathan. "Is the idea of being on a date with me really as terrible as you made it seem?" she asked, hurt evident in her voice.

"What? No, Haley, I just didn't want Tim to get the wrong idea is all."

"Well the way you said it made it seem like you were ashamed to be associated with me."

"Haley, it's not like that!"

"Whatever, Nathan. I'm done," she said angrily and tossed her napkin onto her plate. She quickly stood from her chair and walked out of the building.

Nathan looked around himself uncomfortably. Hopefully none of the other diners had heard their little spat. He frantically waived the waitress over and asked for the cheque. Once he got it, he dropped a wad of cash on the table and ran out of the restaurant in hopes of catching Haley. Unfortunately, she was nowhere in sight so he quickly got in his car and started to look for her.

It didn't take long for Nathan to notice a lone figure walking slowly in heels on the sidewalk in the direction of his best friend's house. He slowed his car down when he was next her and rolled down the passenger side window. "Come on, Hales. Get in."

"No."

"Please, Haley. You're never going to be able to walk all the way home in those shoes," he pleaded.

"Watch me," Haley said, even though she knew he was right. After not even walking for five minutes she felt her feet aching and telling her to either sit down or take the dreaded heels off all together. She was stubborn though and refused to concede to Nathan's wishes.

"Please, Haley," he tried one last time after a watching her take a few obviously painful steps. Haley let out a sigh of annoyance before forcefully pulling open the passenger side door and getting in the car.

"Glad to see you came to your senses," Nathan said happily.

Haley glared at him. "Don't talk to me."

"Alright, fine. I am sorry for offending you, Hales. I didn't mean to say what I did like that, I just didn't want Tim to go around telling everyone we're on a date and then have to explain why we were having dinner together. It would all just turn into one big, never ending topic with our friends."

Haley didn't say or do anything to let Nathan know she acknowledged his short speech. When they finally pulled into her driveway, Nathan made a move to say something else but Haley was too quick getting out of the car and slamming the door. She raced to the front door and shut it before Nathan had the chance to get out of the car to talk to her. He sighed and put his head in his hands. It seems he couldn't stop screwing things up with Haley. Obviously, he was gonna have to do better than some flowers and a nice dinner to make it up to her now.

Haley hurriedly walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. Keith and Karen still weren't back and it didn't look like Lucas was home yet either. She didn't bother to close her door and immediately lay down on her soft bed. She knew she may have over reacted at dinner and blown things way out of proportion. Nathan did actually have a valid reason for not wanting Tim thinking they were on a date. Not to mention, it wasn't a date, so she had no reason to really freak out. Although she still hadn't forgiven Nathan for the whole Rachel fiasco, Haley knew she had to call Nathan tomorrow and apologize for being such a bitch. She really didn't know what was going on with her, Nathan was making her feel all sorts of things she had never felt before and her emotions were all out of whack around him.

Through her open window Haley heard Nathan's car finally back out of the driveway. She walked over to it and watched the sleek car cruise away down the quiet Tree Hill street. She felt something strange pulling at her watching him leave, almost like sadness. _Impossible_, she though, there was no way she was sad just because Nathan didn't try harder with her. With a shake of her head Haley changed into the first pair of pyjamas she spotted and began her long night of laying wide awake in confusion.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Not being able to sleep at all, Haley decided it was finally time to just stop trying and get out of bed. It was almost seven in the morning on a Sunday and Lucas, Karen, and Keith were all still sleeping. She had been awake for pretty much the whole night thinking about everything that had happened between her and Nathan. The more thought she gave it, the more clear it became that giving him an apology wasn't necessary. Sure, she understood and was accepting his reasoning for disregarding her feelings, but he was still in the wrong.

Sighing tiredly, Haley rolled out of her bed and padded quietly down to the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and stuck her ear buds in. Music had always had a calming effect on her, especially in stressful or confusing situations. As she finished up her breakfast she decided a walk might help clear her head a little bit.

Haley rinsed her bowl in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. She walked back up to her room just as quietly as she had come, making sure to avoid all the creaking floor boards. She changed quickly into a pair of jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt. After putting her hair up into a messy bun she started to the front door.

Haley froze in her spot when she turned around after closing the door behind her. Nathan was standing on the sidewalk throwing small rocks at one of the second floor windows. When she glanced at his targeted window she laughed under her breath, he was throwing rocks at Karen and Keith's bedroom window. She shook her head and walked over to him.

"Trying to wake my aunt and uncle? You should know by now that that's their room," she said.

Nathan gazed at her looking apologetic. He dropped the pebbles in his hands and turned to fully face her. He walked a few steps so that they were face to face. "I was aiming for your room."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything. Look, Haley, I screw up a lot... and being around you, I just, I don't wanna be that guy anymore."

"Who do you wanna be then, Nathan?" she asked annoyed.

"I wanna be someone that's good enough to be seen with you," he replied sincerely.

Haley sighed and tried to shake off the effect if his words on her. "You know, I know we've only known each other for a couple weeks, but I keep, I keep putting myself out there, and you keep blowing it! It's probably a good thing because at this point there's nothing you could say or do that's gonna surprise me-"

Haley's rant was cut off by Nathan's lips on hers. The kiss only lasted a few seconds. Really, it was over before it even started and Haley was so shocked that it took her a few seconds later to register that it had actually just happened. She opened her eyes and looked into Nathan's eyes. "Except that," she finished her speech. "You shouldn't have done that, Nathan."

"I wanted to," he assured.

"Yeah..." Haley said still dumbfounded. A large part of her really wanted to kiss Nathan again, but she knew she couldn't let herself do that. "What is this supposed to mean, Nathan?"

"I'll be honest, I don't expect kissing you to make everything better all of a sudden, but I do want to fix things."

"Why, though Nathan? Why is it so important to you for us to be on good terms? We've only known each other for two weeks; it shouldn't matter to you at all!"

"Yeah, I know we've only known each other for two weeks, but I already have feelings for you, Haley!" he admitted. "That's why I did what I did with Rachel. I was confused about what was going on with me after talking to you on the beach. I got drunk and thought hooking up the with easiest person I could find would make my feelings go away. But it didn't; in fact, it made them ten times more obvious to me. Then last night at dinner when Tim assumed we were on a date, I denied it so quickly because I was afraid of what you're reaction would be to it. I know now that it was the wrong move, and I'm really sorry for all of it."

Haley stared at him in silence for a few moments. "Haley, say something."

Haley unexpectedly leapt at Nathan and captured his lips with her own. Their lips moved over one another's for a minute before they pulled away and Nathan searched her eyes. "I'm still mad at you, but I can't help but become more aware of my feelings for you too."

Nathan smiled happily at her. "So what are we gonna do then?"

"Let's just take it slow and see where it goes from there, okay?"

"Okay," Nathan said. "How about we do something fun today? With everyone."

"That sounds nice," Haley confirmed with a smile. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, I was thinking maybe mini golfing?" he suggested.

"Mini golfing it is," Haley said and kissed his cheek lightly. It was gonna take a long time for her to get used to having a romantic relationship with Nathan. She cocked her head in the direction of her front door. "Come inside, I'll make you some breakfast."

Nathan joined hands with the petite girl and allowed her to lead to the house and into the kitchen. "So does this mean I can call you my girlfriend?" he asked.

"If you want to," she said coyly. "Just don't forget we're taking this slow, okay? I don't want to get hurt again."

"I know. I'm not going to hurt you again, Hales." he assured her and wrapped his arms around her waist loosely. Nathan nuzzled Haley's neck and breathed her in. "The last thing I ever want to do again is hurt you like I've managed to already."

He felt Haley nod and he pulled her in a little closer to him. Pulling away slightly, he planted a sweet kiss on her cheek and offered a smile.

"Whoa, I so do not need to see PDA this early in the morning," Lucas' voice broke in.

Startled, the new couple sprang away from each other and looked over at Lucas who was chuckling in the doorway. "So I guess this means dinner last night went really well?"

Nathan grimaced and glanced at Haley quickly."Not even close, man."

Lucas arched a curious brow. "What happened then?" he asked, looking back and forth between his happy friend and cousin.

"Dinner turned out to be a disaster."

"Nathan had enough common sense to show up and try to apologize this morning. I haven't quite forgiven him yet, but it's a start."

Lucas still looked confused. "So why are you two acting so... coupley?"

"I was kind of rambling on and Nathan kissed me out of nowhere. He told me he has feelings for me and I told him I do too. We're dating, but taking it really slow," Haley explained nervously to her over protective cousin.

Lucas immediately busted out laughing. "That's a joke, right?"

"No man, it isn't," Nathan said annoyed.

Lucas sobered up a looked hardly at them. "Okay. I guess I'll have to get used to it then, but if you make one wrong move, I'll kick your ass."

"Lucas!" Haley reprimanded and he shrugged.

""It's the truth. I'm happy for you guys though."

Haley smiled softly at her cousin. She hugged him quickly before returning to Nathan's side. "We wanted to go mini golfing today with everyone to just have some fun."

"Yeah, I'm in. That sounds really good actually."

Haley eyed Lucas carefully. She was just noticing that he looked upset over something. "Did something happen last night?"

Lucas sighed and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table. He sat down and Haley and Nathan did the same. "Brooke and I kind of got into a bit of a fight."

"About what?"

"She said she wants to date," Lucas said.

"Luke, that's great! Isn't that what you want?"

"She said she wants to date, but non-exclusively. Basically, be friends with benefits. I want more than that with Brooke though. So I said no and she got mad at me because she wants to do that so we don't ruin our friendship or something."

Haley frowned. "I'm sorry, Lucas. You guys will work it out though."

"Yeah, I told her I wanted a real relationship. Hopefully she'll come to her senses and want that for us too."

She nodded sympathetically. "Do you want us to not invite Brooke today then?"

"No, it's fine. It might even do some good to just have some fun with each other."

"If you're sure," Haley said and sat back in her seat. Nathan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and allowed her to lean her head on his shoulder tiredly. She yawned and both boys laughed. The trio heard two more sets of footsteps walking down the stairs and watch Karen and Keith offer smiles to all of them when they entered the room.

"Good morning, kids."

"Morning," they all replied.

Karen and Keith both glanced at Nathan's arm wrapped around Haley that was toying idly with her hair. Although Karen had warned Haley about Nathan, she wasn't all that surprised that they seemed to have gotten together. She could tell just by looking at the way Nathan was gazing at her niece that Haley was different for him. They both seemed really content in each other's presence. She smiled; her niece was finally starting to be happy in Tree Hill. She offered to make breakfast for everyone, to which all the boys gladly accepted.

The group spent the rest of the morning sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast and having light, laughter filled conversation. When noon rolled around, Nathan, Lucas, and Haley left to meet their friends at the local mini golf course.

* * *

><p>The trio were the last of the group to arrive. Julian, Peyton, and Brooke were all standing at Peyton's car waiting for them. Tim was hanging out with Bevin and opted not to join them; probably not realizing Nathan would be there.<p>

Haley and Nathan walked over to them hand in hand with Lucas trailing behind trying to avoid contact with Brooke. Their three friends' eyes looked questioningly at Nathan and Haley's joined hands but none of them voiced their confusion. It was clear through the awkward silence that fell upon them that the whole group knew about Brooke and Lucas' fight.

"So, everyone ready for some mini golf?" Julian said excitedly as an attempt to diffuse some of the tension.

"I am!" Haley said in the same excited tone, catching onto his attempt.

Julian smiled and winked at her. He turned and draped an arm loosely around Peyton's shoulders as the group began walking to the entrance. They each paid and grabbed a suitable club and chose their ball colour. With the scorecard in Nathan's hand, they proceeded to the first hole.

"Alright, what order are we gonna go in?"

They all shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. We could go girl, boy?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Peyton agreed.

"Okay, so Peyton you can go first, then Julian, Haley, me, Brooke, and Lucas?" he said and looked to his friends for confirmation. Brooke and Lucas looked a little uneasy still but the other three all agreed to it and Nathan wrote their names down in that order.

"You're up then, Peyton."

Peyton stepped onto the green turf and situated her ball right where she wanted it. She stood behind it and lined up the shot she wanted to take. After taking a few practice swings, she hit her ball and watched it sail towards the hole and keep going well past it. It finally came to halt in a sand trap a couple metres from her intended destination. She frowned and turned to face her friends who were all laughing hysterically at her failure. She stuck her tongue out at them and proudly marched over to where her ball was sitting.

One by one, the rest of the group lined up their shot. Some had success and some didn't, but it was clear Peyton was going to come in last place without any competition.

"Hole number ten, Julian announced. "Do you guys wanna take a break, sit down and eat something then finish the back nine?"

"Yeah, I'm getting kind of hungry."

"So, why don't Lucas, Nathan, and I go get the food and you three can go sit at that picnic table over there," he suggested while pointing at a table not too far from them.

The girls agreed and they split into two groups. "Alright Haley, spill," Brooke said when they made it to the nicely shaded area.

"Spill what?"

Brooke looked at her like Haley had grown two heads. "What's going on between you and Nathan?"

Despite her best effort not to, Haley smiled at the mention of her _boyfriend. _"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit! As soon as I even mention his name you start smiling like an idiot, now spill girl."

"What do you want to know," Haley conceded.

"What the hell is going on between you two? You guys have been acting really weird since you got here," Peyton spoke up.

Haley looked around her to make sure the boys weren't coming back. "You promise you won't tell anyone?" Both girls nodded and Haley immediately dove into the events that had transpired between her and Nathan, starting with the beach conversation and ending with this morning. "So now, we're dating, but taking it really slow."

Brooke and Peyton looked at her in shock. "That wasn't what I was expecting."

Haley laughed. "I know. And now that I've spilled the beans, what about you Brooke?"

"What about me?"

"Care to explain the fight you and Lucas got into last night? I don't know how you're feeling about it, but Lucas was really torn up over it this morning at breakfast."

"He should be. It was his fault we started fighting."

Haley cocked an eyebrow, clearly showing her disbelief and Brooke sighed. "We both know we have feelings for each other so I suggested dating non-exclusively and see other people at the same time. I don't want to start dating and have it ruin our friendship. But as soon as I said non-exclusive, Lucas freaked out and got angry and then started getting mad too."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "It's so obvious that you more than like each other, Davis. I don't blame Luke for getting mad. He knows what he wants and you're just too scared to admit that that's what you want too."

"I'm not scared to admit it's what I want, I'm scared of what might happen if it ends."

"Brooke, you can't be afraid of something that may or may not even happen. Take a chance and go for what you want. Life's too short not to."

Brooke nodded sympathetically at her and looked longingly in the distance at Lucas. "Thanks for the advice. I'll think about it. Moving on though, how are things with Julian, P. Sawyer?"

She shrugged. "They're alright. I'm still not sure if I'm really into him though. We've been friends for a while, I don't know if I have romantic feelings for him or not. Lately, we've been acting more like really close friends than anything else."

"That sucks."

Peyton agreed but decided to not say anything further when she noticed that the boys were returning with their food. When they made it to the table they each sat down and started passing out food to each other. The group of friends talked and ate their lunch before returning to the mini golf course and finishing off the last nine holes. To everyone's surprise, Haley came out on top and they were subjected to her victory celebration afterwards.

After returning their balls and clubs the group parted ways again. Lucas, Nathan, and Haley going back to the Roe's, and the other three going their separate ways as well.

* * *

><p>"Today was a good day," Haley stated hours later.<p>

"It was," Nathan agreed. The two were lying together on the couch watching a chick flick Haley had picked out after spending the rest of the day together when they finished mini golfing. Nathan was partially sitting up as he gently rubbed Haley's back. He wasn't really paying attention to what was happening on the screen, instead chose to look at his girlfriend. He still couldn't believe what had happened this morning. Haley actually agreed to be his girlfriend. He knew girls normally flocked to him, Haley James had just never been the girl to fall at his feet and he figured it would take a lot more than telling her the truth in that little speech to get her to fall for him. Sure, he still wasn't completely in the clear but hopefully she forgave him quickly.

"What are you staring at?" Haley asked confused after she noticed his hands had stilled and she looked up at him.

"You're beautiful," Nathan said simply, causing Haley to blush. "And I love your blush."

Haley blushed deeper and smiled up at him. "You're too sweet for your own good."

"It's all part of my charm, babe," he said cockily.

"There's the Nathan Scott I know!" she laughed and then turned back into the movie. She felt Nathan begin softly rubbing her back again and she yawned. "You know, you're gonna make me fall asleep of you keep doing that."

"Go ahead, baby. I'll be right here," he whispered soothingly. Sure enough, less than ten minutes later he heard Haley's breathing even out. For the first time since moving to Tree Hill she fell asleep peacefully without shedding a tear.


	9. Chapter 9

Yay, new chapter! While I have your attention, I just want to take the time to shamelessly plug another story. That being said, if you haven't already, check out my spoilerific season 9 one shot **Not So Nice Homecoming** based off of a possible Naley scene in season 9! Anywho, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

"Get up, Nathan. We're going for a run," Dan Scott's voice boomed from the hallway outside Nathan's bedroom. He cracked open an eye and saw that it was only five in the morning; he still had an hour before he had to get up to get ready for his daily tutoring sessions. Groaning at the disturbance, Nathan rolled onto his side and closed his eyes again.

Just as Nathan was about to fall back asleep, his bedroom door swung up and light flooded in. "Ah, Dad, what the hell!"

"Get up, Nathan. We're going for a run."

"At five in the morning?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. I want to get in at least twelve miles. You need proper conditioning if you're gonna beat my scoring record tomorrow against Cove City."

"I also need sleep."

"No, you don't. Now get up."

Nathan rolled his eyes at his dad. He knew he wasn't going to win this battle so he sat up and got out of his nice warm bed. "I'm up, happy now?" he asked miserably.

"Not until you put on some work out gear and get your ass down stairs," Dan said and walked out of the room.

Nathan sighed and walked over his dresser. He wasn't really surprised that his dad was being an ass; he was always one to him. All Dan Scott cared about was basketball and making sure Nathan didn't disgrace the Scott name and basketball pedigree. Dan had been pushing Nathan in basketball since the first time he was able to dribble a ball. Every conversation they ever had revolved around basketball in some way.

Nathan threw on a pair of black basketball shorts and loose t shirt. Slipping on some socks and his running shoes, he headed down stairs to meet his father who was waiting in the den.

"Are you gonna let me eat before we head out?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be though.

"You don't need to eat. Grab a bottle of water and let's go."

Not wanting to start a fight this early in the morning, Nathan obediently walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water from the fridge. He made a mental note to call Haley when he got back and cancel his tutoring session, knowing he would probably miss it or just be too tired to be up to studying. Nathan returned to the den and followed his dad out the front door. The next twelve miles were sure to be hell.

Three miles in and all Dan had managed to do was insult Nathan. Nothing he did was right. Nathan was out of shape, drinking too much water, panting, weak, never going to break his father's scoring record; the list of insults went on and on. At this point, all Nathan wanted to do was deck his dad in the jaw and go back to bed. He wasn't going to though, he was going to grin and bear all the criticism and go to the game tomorrow night and break Dan's scoring record then shove it in his face that he's better than his wash out dad.

Dan says his knee injury in college was too bad to be able to let him continue to play pro basketball, but Nathan knew that that wasn't the case. Dan was just too afraid he'd suck if he ever returned to the game. He wasn't weak, his dad was.

"What are you, a girl? You can go faster than this, Nathan."

"I'm tired, Dad. Can we not slow down for a few minutes?"

"No, we can't. You're weak, Nathan and this is exactly why you'll never be able to beat my record. When I was your age, I was already playing the entire game, none of the breaks shit you do."

Nathan gritted his teeth to stop from having an outburst. He really should be used to his dad treating him like shit by now, but somehow he always found it affecting him.

Only a quarter of a mile to go and Nathan knew there was no chance in hell he was going to go to his tutoring session that was supposed to start right now. He didn't have his cell phone with him though, so he couldn't let Haley know he wasn't going to be showing up any time soon.

As soon as he got home from the brutal twelve mile run, Nathan jumped in the shower. Beforehand, he texted Haley apologizing and letting her know he couldn't make it to their tutoring session. As he stood underneath the hot spray, he let his muscles finally relax. He was sure they would be sore later on today, especially having basketball practice after school. At this point he knew he was going to need a miracle to not be completely winded tomorrow night.

By the end of his shower, Nathan only had half an hour before school started. He got dressed and ate breakfast quickly before heading out.

* * *

><p>Haley wasn't very impressed with her boyfriend. She wasn't mad that he couldn't make their tutoring session, she was pissed off that he only had the sense to text after she had already gotten there and waited for ten minutes. Walking across the quad to her friends, Haley had every intention of bitching at Nathan. Those intentions were dropped when she saw him though. He looked down right exhausted and appeared to not be in the greatest mood.<p>

"Hey," she greeted everyone and sat down next to Nathan. He didn't even acknowledge her presence and she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "First you stand me up and now you don't even say hi? What's wrong with you?" Haley joked.

"Don't even bother talking to Mr. Grumpy Pants, Haley. He's been a grouch since he got here and won't tell anyone what's got him all uptight," Brooke said.

Haley frowned and leaned against Nathan's shoulder. "Take a walk with me," she said and grabbed his hand. When he didn't get up she pulled him up herself and he finally began walking alongside her. She walked them to a secluded area of the quad out of view from most of the student population that she noticed was staring at the two of them holding hands. "What's going on with you?"

Nathan sighed. "I just had a shitty morning, okay? I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Too bad. You're gonna tell me and let out all this anger you have bottled up now."

"It was nothing new. My dad was just being a dick. He got me up at five and made me run twelve miles with him and the whole time all he did was basically tell me how worthless I am."

Haley cupped Nathan's cheek with her hand. "I'm sorry, Nate. I didn't realize things were that bad at home."

"Yeah," Nathan shrugged. "I'm used to it by now."

"You shouldn't have to get used to being treated like that, Nathan. Do you want to talk about it at all anymore?"

"No, not really. All I can focus on right now is the game against Cove City tomorrow and breaking my dad's scoring record just because he thinks I can't."

"You can and you will," Haley confirmed.

"Thanks, Hales," Nathan smiled genuinely at her. "Now let's go back and hang out with our friends before first period." He laced his fingers with hers and led them back over to the table their friends occupied.

"A little make out session cheer you up a bit, Nate?" Brooke said jokingly.

Nathan glared at her and sat down in his previous spot, pulling Haley close to him. "How about we don't talk about Nathan," Haley suggested in an attempt to get the spotlight off her boyfriend. The rest of the group took her not so subtle hint and started chatting aimlessly about the first random topic that popped up.

Nathan spotted Tim walking alone from across the quad and stood. "I have to go talk to Tim," he said and kissed Haley lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you in class. Bye guys."

By the time last period rolled around, Haley had had it with school for the day. It seems the entire student body was made aware of Nathan and Haley's relationship. Every girl she passed was giving her dirty looks and every guy seemed to be checking her out, realizing she existed for the first time. This period was going to be the absolute worst part of the day for her though. Even with Nathan there, Haley knew Rachel was going to treat her worse than she ever had.

Walking into the class, Haley sat down in her seat in front of her boyfriend's who had yet to arrive. From across the room she saw Rachel glare at her and make her way over. She sat down in the empty seat next to Haley and laughed. "I hope you know, you and Nathan aren't going to last two seconds. Nathan doesn't do relationships and he wants me too much to be able to resist. He's gonna kick you to the curb by next week."

"Really? Because from what he told me, making out with you at the party on Friday was one of the biggest mistakes of his life."

Rachel glared at Haley again. She saw Nathan walk in and make his way over to them and a large smile formed on her superficial face. "Hey, Nathan," she tried to say seductively and placed a hand on his large bicep.

"Fuck off, Rachel. I have a girlfriend and I'll never be interested in you," he said gruffly.

Haley smiled sarcastically at the red head and she walked stunned back to her seat on the other side of the room. Haley turned around and looked at Nathan. "Are you feeling any better now?"

"Can we just not talk, Haley? I need to get ready for the game tomorrow and I can do that a lot more easily without being distracted."

"Sure, whatever," Haley said annoyed and turned back around. The rest of class she didn't bother trying to start a conversation with him because it was obvious he still in a horrible mood. When the final bell rang she packed up her stuff and walked briskly out of the room and away from him. She grabbed whatever she needed for her homework out of her locker and started the relatively short walk home.

When she got there, like usual she was the first one home. She pulled out her phone and knowing it was a long shot, dialled the number of the one person who had always been there for her.

"Hey, long time no talk," he answered on the first ring.

"Hi, Jakey," she said guiltily, knowing she hadn't called her best friend as often as she wanted to.

"What's up?

"You sound sick," Haley ignored his question.

"I was, but I'm feeling better now that I'm hearing your voice. I took the day off, now what's going on that you're calling me when you know I'd be at school?"

Haley sighed. "Nathan was being a jerk today. Not to mention the girl that's been out to get me since I moved here hates me even more now."

"Wait, whose Nathan?"

Haley bit her lip nervously. She knew Jake probably wasn't going to be happy about this. "He's my boyfriend."

"I'm sorry, I thought I just heard you say that you've been living in a new town for two weeks and already have a boyfriend," Jake spoke calmly.

"No, you heard right," Haley winced, waiting for the blow out.

Jake laughed sardonically. "I really can't believe you right now. No doubt this guy is just trying to take advantage of you! You show up, heartbroken and let me guess, he swooped in a took care of you?"

"Well, not exactly, but he did make me feel better a couple times. You don't even know him Jake, so don't try to judge him. Besides, it's not like you hating my boyfriends is anything new to us."

"Hales, I hated all your old boyfriends because they were all complete assholes, and I'm sure this Norman guy is the exact same."

"His name is Nathan, and he's not."

"Really? Then why did you just call me up complaining about how much of an asshole he's being to you. I don't know about you, but I'd say that isn't a very good first impression of the guy for me."

"I called you because you're my best friend, I have no one to talk to and I figured you'd listen and be supportive of me. You've always said that no matter what you want me to be happy and I am happy, Jake, so can you just not be mad about this?" she pleaded.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Finally, Haley heard Jake sigh. "Tell me what happened."

"He was just being an asshole during class. We meet up every morning before school and I tutor him, but he didn't show up this morning and he texted me after I had already got there and told me he wouldn't be coming. Then when I got to school he was in like the worst mood ever and we talked and he told me about all this horrible stuff his dad was doing and saying to him. It actually seemed like he was feeling a bit better, but then he just got up and left to go talk to one of his friends, and then in last period I was trying to talk to him and he snapped at me and told me he didn't want to talk because I was distracting him from focussing on the basketball game tomorrow night."

Jake gritted his teeth. "What is it with you and jackass basketball players?"

Haley ignored his comment and continued on with her rant. "I know his dad is a complete asshole and everything, but that shouldn't give him the right to be mean to me, right? All I asked was if he was feeling better and he bit my head off."

"I'm not siding with him, and this doesn't mean that I like him at all, but maybe the guy just needs some space. He's probably stressed out about the basketball game. You know how I sometimes get before a big game, and it's the exact same thing for him, he just needs to focus on it and prepare for it."

"So you're saying that the day before every basketball game this season I just have to completely back off and let him be an ass?"

"No, I'm not saying back off completely, just give him his space. Now tell me about the girl that's out to get you."

"Her name is Rachel and she's always had a thing for Nathan. He's never been into her though and she basically hates me and picks on me just because I was friends with him and now I'm sure it'll get worse now that we're dating," Haley huffed.

"Just ignore the bitch," Jake offered simply and Haley laughed.

"Why didn't I think of such a simple solution?" she said sarcastically. "I'll try to though."

"That's my girl. Don't let some jealous girl get to you."

Haley nodded. "How's everyone there?"

Jake shrugged. "Pretty much the same as before. The guys all miss you, I think Junk probably took you leaving the hardest though, you know because he's always had a huge crush on you."

"What?" Haley laughed loudly. "He did not!"

"Yes, he did!" Jake laughed in response. "All he does is sulk now. I won't be surprised if he flies out to see you soon and never comes home."

She shook her head. "Speaking of flying out to see me, are you still coming out for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah, I talked to my parents about it and they said its fine, they'll pay for my plane ticket. I was thinking about taking a few days off school and flying in on Monday and then leaving on the Sunday. How does that sound?"

Haley smiled giddily. "I can't wait! That means we only have to wait exactly four weeks to see each other. "

"I know, I can't wait either. I miss you so much, Hales."

"I miss you, too, best friend."

"On that note, I have to go, Skills is here to hang out. Call me soon, okay?"

"I will, I promise," Haley vowed and they each hung up the phone. Haley felt ten times better after talking to her best friend again. She was about to get a start on her homework when a loud knock sounded on her door.

"Shouldn't you be at practice?" Haley asked when she saw her boyfriend standing in the doorway.

"No, it's over now," he said. Haley looked startled at her clock. She didn't realize her and Jake had actually been on the phone for over an hour.

"What are you doing here, then?"

"I wanted to see you," Nathan shrugged.

"Oh, so now you feel like talking with me?"

"Look, Haley, I'm sorry about what I said in class. I'm just not good at the whole talking about my feelings crap and it's easier for me to just shut people out than to let them in and be vulnerable. The easiest way for me to get people to back off is to be a dick so that's what I did."

"You're going to have to let me, Nathan."

"I know, and I will. It's just going to take a bit of time."

Haley nodded and gestured for Nathan to sit on her bed with her. He immediately lay down on his chest next to her and wrapped a lazy arm around her stomach. He started kissing her neck and cheeks while his hand roamed the length of her body.

When Nathan moved so that he was lying on top of her and still kissing her forcefully, Haley started to feel uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. However, it didn't take long for him to start trying to lift her t-shirt over her head. "Nathan, stop."

He continued with his actions and forced her shirt up a bit higher so that the bottom of her bra was now exposed. "Seriously, Nathan, stop it," Haley protested again and pushed him off of her.

Nathan stood up looking annoyed. "What? Why are you acting like such a virgin? I wanna have sex with you, Hales, what's the big deal."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Okay, I may not be a virgin, but that doesn't mean that sex still isn't a big deal for me. I also know I definitely don't want our first time together to be like this."

"Like what?"

"Well, you're obviously still pissed off and I want you to be in a good mood. Not to mention that all my school books are spread out on my bed, and no doubt Lucas, Karen, or Keith will be home soon and I really don't want any of them to walk in."

"Oh my God, lighten up, Haley," Nathan said and within seconds he was back on top of her and trying to kiss her senseless. Again, Haley pushed him off of her and looked at him shocked.

"I want you to leave."

"You can't be serious," Nathan scoffed.

"I'm serious. Get out, Nathan," she said forcefully, walking over to her door and pulling it open wide.

Nathan shook his head in disbelief and stormed out of her room. On his way out, he passed Karen in the hallway just arriving home from the Cafe. She said hi to him but he gruffly walked passed her and slammed the front door behind him.

"Ugh, asshole!" Haley screamed out in frustration. Karen heard and glanced up the stairs uneasily. She heard Haley's door slam and her music turn on to full blast. Karen knew better than to approach her niece so quickly after a blowout with her new boyfriend and walked into the kitchen to get a start on dinner.

Up in her room, Haley couldn't help but think that maybe Jake had been right. It seemed the only guys she was ever interested were assholes that treated her like crap. She lay in her bed and let doubts of her and Nathan's relationship seep into her mind and plague her incessantly.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

She wasn't coming. It became clear the second his phone had changed from 7:00 to 7:01. Haley was never late for tutoring. Needless to say, Nathan was well aware that she was still pissed at him. No text or phone call to let him know she wasn't going to show up either. Sighing dejectedly, Nathan walked over to the nearest trash can and dropped the bouquet of flowers he had bought for her into it. If he was being honest, Nathan really didn't understand exactly why Haley was this pissed off at him. She was being a bitch and blowing everything out of proportion.

"Hey, you've reached Haley, hopefully you know what to do with the beep," Nathan heard her recite her voicemail message for the third time this morning. He sighed as he disconnected the call, there was no point leaving a third message when he had said all he needed to in the first two.

Knowing he didn't have much else to do, Nathan hopped into his parked car and drove to school. When he arrived he was surprised to see how many people actually got there with a half an hour before classes began. He had never been one to get to school early and never realized that people actually enjoyed hanging around campus in the morning.

Nathan quickly spotted Peyton, Jake, Lucas, and his girlfriend seated at their regular lunch table and walked over to them. He greeted them with a smile and sat down next to Haley. She immediately slid closer to Lucas and ignored him. The other three appeared to be engulfed in conversation already and Nathan moved closer to Haley so that his lips were hovering near her ear. "I waited for you this morning."

Haley rolled her eyes and continued in giving him the silent treatment. He had some nerve to waltz up to her this morning and basically act like nothing had happened yesterday.

"So that's how it's going to be then? You're just going to ignore me like you're five?"

Haley scoffed. "Like you don't deserve it."

"I don't! What did I do that was so wrong?"

"If you really have to ask then you're even more clueless than I thought you were."

"Hales, if you don't tell me what I did that's got you so upset then I won't be able to fix it."

Haley turned so that she was fully facing him. "Well you were a jackass in class yesterday, but I'll let that go because you're obviously stressed about your dad and the game today. What I'm really pissed off about is how you tried to force having sex with you upon me not once but twice, after I already told you no. Then you storm out without another word. You know what my first time was like, Nathan? My ex boyfriend and I had been dating for three months and he guilt tripped me into having sex. After forcing himself on me and I said no, he told me if I didn't then he was going cheat on me. He told me if I really loved him then I would sleep with him and that I would like it. Yesterday felt no different than how Damien treated me. All you were thinking about was yourself and what you wanted that you didn't stop to think for second about how I might feel."

Nathan looked at her remorsefully. "I guess I get it now. I'm sorry for being an asshole. Sometimes I just don't stop to think about the other person in the situation and how they might be feeling. I promise I'll try harder to consider you when I do something."

Haley smiled at him. "That's all I ask."

Nathan smiled back and kissed her softly. "So I'm forgiven then?"

Laughing softly, Haley nodded. "Yes, you're forgiven."

"Does that mean you'll be at the game tonight?"

"Of course. You know I wouldn't miss it."

"Good," Nathan smirked. "I want you to see me break that scoring record."

"I'll be there," Haley confirmed and the couple kissed softly until their friends' protests tore them apart.

"Okay, we know that you guys are still in the honeymoon phase, but please keep the PDA to a minimum when we're around," Lucas said uncomfortably.

Nathan glared at the interruption and pulled Haley so that her back was against his chest. "You're heart is beating really fast," she said quietly to him.

Nathan kissed the crook of her neck. "That's what happens when you're around me."

Haley blushed at his words and tried to focus in on the conversation going on between her friends. She felt Nathan chuckling softly at her embarrassment and she elbowed him in the side. "That wasn't very nice," he commented.

"It wasn't very nice to embarrass me either," she replied good naturedly.

Nathan shrugged. "I can't help it if it's the truth, babe."

Haley laughed; she wasn't even really upset with him for making her turn into a pile of goo. If she was being honest, Haley was just overjoyed that her and Nathan were able to put their fight behind them and would now be able to move on from it. She sat in his arms contentedly and revelled in the feeling of it. She was acutely aware of her boyfriend rubbing her sides gently and she tried her absolute best to ignore it until the first bell of the day finally rang signalling first period would be beginning in a matter of minutes. The entire group rose from their seats and headed towards their respective lockers and homeroom. Nathan walked Haley to her first class and kissed her gently when they made it to the door. "I'll see you later," he told her and walked off to his homeroom. Haley smiled happily and made it to her assigned seat still in a Nathan induced haze.

* * *

><p>The final bell of the day rang and Nathan and Haley walked hand in hand out of their last period class. Since today was game day, coach Whitey Durham wanted the boys to be rested for the game and therefore didn't have a practice scheduled. "So, we're gonna go back to your house until I have to be back here for the game?"<p>

"Yeah," Haley confirmed. "I just have to go to my locker and get some of my stuff."

Nathan allowed Haley to lead him to their lockers and he grudgingly grabbed his own books when she looked at him expectantly. "Don't think just because its game day you don't have to do any of your homework."

Nathan smirked. "I guess. Will you help me though?" he said and locked his eyes with hers.

"Well, when you look at me like that, it's pretty hard for a girl to say no."

Nathan was on the verge of expressing his thanks to his girlfriend when a loud voice sounded from across the almost empty hallway. "Yo, Nate dawg!"

Nathan and Haley stopped walking and turned around to see Tim quickly approaching. "What do you want, Dim?" Nathan sighed agitatedly.

Haley smacked his arm. She didn't understand why Nathan was being so rude to one of his best friends. Tim seemed unfazed by Nathan's reaction however and continued the conversation. "You pumped for the game, man?"

"Yeah, sure. I feel really good about it."

"So they worked for you then?" he asked over excitedly.

Despite wanting to punch Tim in the jaw, Nathan remained calm. "Yeah, those training tips you gave me really helped improve my workout. Now, if you'll excuse us, me and Haley have some stuff to do before the game," Nathan said and dragged Haley away from his big mouthed friend.

Haley was still confused about their encounter with Tim during the brief drive with Nathan back to her house. She didn't bother asking Nathan about it though, knowing he was on edge about the game made her think twice before bringing up certain topics. When they arrived at Haley's house, they both quietly got out of the car and took a seat at the kitchen table with their books. It was clear to both Nathan and Haley that the other had something on their mind, but both were too anxious or confused to bring it up.

They passed the time in silence doing their school work. It didn't take long for an hour to pass and the time for Nathan to head back to Tree Hill high to prepare for the game to come. Packing up all his belongings and heading to the door to leave, Nathan gave his girlfriend a soft kiss on the lips, mindful of her aunt and uncle in the next room. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah, I'll see you," Haley said and Nathan left with a smile. Haley headed back into the kitchen where Karen had begun cooking dinner. "Are you guys coming to the game tonight, too?"

"Yes. Are you going to ride with us?"

Haley nodded and went back to her school work. "So, I take it you and Nathan made up today?" Karen asked moments later.

Haley looked up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, yesterday night Nathan left looking pretty angry and judging by the inappropriate word you screamed after he had gone, I'd say you were just as angry."

"You were home?" Haley asked embarrassed.

"I got home right as Nathan was storming out. Care to explain what happened?" the older woman prodded and took a seat next to her niece.

Haley sighed. "Nathan was just being kind of aggressive and when I pushed him away he tried to keep going. Finally, I told him to leave and he got pissed at me."

Karen looked slightly confused. "You mean Nathan was trying to push you into having sex?" At that moment, Keith walked into the room. He heard his wife's question and immediately turned and left the room.

Haley blushed deeply. "Yeah. He apologized this morning though."

Karen grimaced. She had had a short discussion with Haley about sex and Nathan, but a lot had already changed between the two of them. Their relationship had progressed abnormally quickly for high school and she couldn't help but worry that sex was the next logical step and the young couple would be stupid about it. "Haley, do we need to have another conversation about sex?"

Again, Haley blushed. "No, Aunt Karen. My mom had that talk with me a few months ago," she explained awkwardly and sadly, remembering her late mother."

"Okay. I just don't want to see you give into pressure Nathan might put on you to have sex. You have to be smart about these things."

"Trust me, I wouldn't do that ever again," Haley muttered but Karen still heard her. Karen cocked her eyebrow in questioning. "I lost my virginity to Damien because he kept pressuring me to have sex and I finally gave in, even though I knew I wasn't completely ready at the time."

"Damien?" Karen asked, her tone indicating she was asking if it was the same Damien that had been responsible for killing her sister and brother in law. When Haley shook her head yes Karen immediately wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry for everything he's done to you, Haley. I love you and I promise Keith and I won't ever let anyone hurt you like that again."

Haley smiled emotionally. "That means a lot Aunt Karen, I love you, too."

"I love you too, Haley," Keith yelled from the other room and both girls laughed softly.

Karen offered one last smile and stood up again, returning to the counter to finish preparing dinner.

* * *

><p>"That's thirty eight points for Nathan Scott tonight and we're early in the fourth quarter. He's five points away from breaking the all time scoring record against Cove City, set of course by Nathan's father Dan Scott," the game's announcer said loudly into his microphone.<p>

Haley sat anxiously in between her aunt and uncle. Nathan was having the game of his life out on that court but she couldn't help but notice how on edge and aggressive he was being. The last game she had seen him play in he didn't get into any altercations with the other team and rarely even had physical contact with them unless he was defending. Tonight though, Nathan was picking fights over nothing with players he hadn't even been playing near. It was safe to say she was worried about him. The last ten minutes of the game couldn't be going by any slower as the clock seemed to stop and start every couple of seconds.

Nathan ran with the ball in his possession to the basket. He jumped into the air and slammed it through the goal, while colliding with his defender and knocking the other boy flat on his ass. Nathan jumped down yelling in excitement, he had just tied his father's scoring record. The sound of the referee's whistle blowing knocked him out of his excited state though. He heard the older man yelling that Nathan fouled his opponent. He immediately walked over to the man and got into his face. He must've been blind, because it was obvious to Nathan at least that he didn't foul his weak ass defender.

"Coach, you better get your boy under control!" the ref yelled at Whitey and the even older man stalked over and grabbed the back of Nathan's jersey, pulling him over to the team's bench while calling a time out.

"Nathan! You need to get your temper under control now!"

"Coach, I'm three points away from beating my dad's scoring record. I didn't foul that punk. He and the whole rest of the team need to stand back while I score the next three points."

"Nathan, I don't care how many points you've got. You keep this up and I'll move you so far down the bench they'll have to pump air to you," Whitey said sternly.

Nathan grunted angrily and headed back onto the court. Now he was even more anxious than ever to score the next two points to tie the scoring record.

"What is he doing," Haley whispered to herself. Karen caught the girl's question and looked sympathetically at her.

"As soon as he beats that record, he'll be back to himself again."

"I hope so."

Nathan was back in possession of the familiar orange ball. He was running back down the court when out of nowhere he didn't feel like himself anymore. His heart was beating way faster than it ever had before and he felt himself becoming dizzy and light headed. As the world around him began to go black, Nathan's eyes locked with a terror stricken Haley's. That was the last thing he saw as he went unconscious and fell to the hard gym floor.

Haley stood up in panic. She was oblivious of the crowd around her that had all also stood to get a better look of what happened to the Raven's star player. She watched as the entire team, their medic, and coach Durham gathered around the still boy. She made a move to get off the bleachers and run onto the court, but Keith's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She watched helplessly as a stretcher carried her boyfriend off the court.

The Ravens were already up thirty points with five minutes left of the game. With no hope of Cove City catching up, the referee ended the game early and all the patrons began filing out of the gym still in shock. The ride home was silent as Karen, Keith, and Haley all worried about Nathan and prayed that he would be okay. As soon as they got back home, Haley walked up to her room and closed the door.

"When I told you to call me soon, I didn't think it'd be the very next day," Jake joked when he answered his phone and saw that it was his best friend that was calling.

With tears forming in her eyes Haley let out a small sob. "Jake."

Jake's smile immediately vanished when he heard his friend's strangled voice. "What happened."

"It's Nathan. He was playing in his basketball game and he was fine one minute and then the next second he collapsed. They carried him out on a stretcher and I don't know what's wrong."

"Sh... He's going to be alright, Haley. I promise nothing is going to happen to him."

"What if he isn't?" she asked desperately.

"Haley. Nathan isn't going anywhere. They're going to take him to the hospital and they'll fix him up and he'll be fine."

Haley remained on the line with Jake as he tried as hard as he could to get her to calm down from across the country. It took only ten minutes for her to finally stop hyperventilating. "Okay, I'm gonna let you go now. Call me sometime tomorrow when you know what's going on, alright?"

"I will," Haley sniffled and hung up her phone. She sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands. She lay back onto her pillows and closed her eyes. Unaware of how much time had actually passed, Haley told whoever it was that had knocked on her door that she was fine and to go away. The door opened anyway though, and Haley gasped in shock when she watched Nathan walk uneasily into the room, using objects around it to support himself. She stared at him in shock as he leaned against her desk chair.

"The door was unlocked," he offered.

"Lucas stayed with the team so my aunt and uncle just kept it unlocked for him. How are you?"

"Not so good," Nathan confessed and Haley immediately walked across the room and hugged him tightly.

When they finally pulled away Nathan looked at her guiltily. "I've made a lot of mistakes, Haley. Sometimes because of my dad, and sometimes by choice. I just can't do it anymore."

"It's okay," she started to comfort him but Nathan interrupted.

"No. No, it's not okay. I'm not okay. When I fell on the floor tonight I was so scared. I'm still terrified. But then I saw you and I promised myself if I could just get up and walk over to you, and tell you how much I need you... how much I want you, then nothing else matters," he finished softly.

Haley looked at him lovingly and shook her head in disbelief. She gently cupped his cheek and kissed him softly. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Haley smiled at him and stood up to close her bedroom door again. She walked back over to her bed and lay down next to him. "What happened?" she finally voiced the question that had been plaguing her.

"My dad kept putting pressure on me. For once I just wanted to beat him. Tim's brother is a dealer and Tim got me some an... amphit.." Nathan sighed not remembering what the word was.

"Amphetamines," Haley supplied softly and he nodded. She hugged him even tighter knowing just how lucky he was to not have overdosed.

"It was stupid. I'm so sorry, Haley."

"Its fine, Nathan. I'm not mad, just go to sleep, you need to rest," Haley whispered and kissed his cheek. After that, it didn't take very long for Nathan's breathing to even out. Haley remained laying awake, worrying about her boyfriend. When her door opened about half an hour after Nathan fell asleep Haley focussed her gaze on her aunt. Karen looked surprised to see Nathan sleeping next her niece and walked a little further into the room.

"How is he? I got a call from Deb and she told me he was missing."

"He's okay. Just really exhausted now."

"This won't happen often, Haley, but Nathan can spend the night here, okay?"

Haley smiled gratefully at the older woman. "Thanks, Aunt Karen."

Karen nodded. "Now you should get some sleep, too. It's been a long night for you as well."

When Karen had backed out the room and closed the door behind her, Haley rolled onto her side and cuddled up close to Nathan. She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell into a peaceful sleep. Her worries had subsided now that she knew her boyfriend was safe and sound next to her. At least for the next eight to ten hours it was just her and Nathan in their own world. At that second, Haley promised herself to take in every single second of her life. Her parents' death and now Nathan's collapse had really managed to put her life in perspective and make her realize what mattered, what didn't, and that she needed to live her life to the fullest.


	11. Chapter 11

New chapter! :)) Unfortunately, I have no idea when the next one will be coming or how frequently I'll be able to update. This week I work at seven in the morning for nine hours twice and then after this weekend, school starts back up for me. I'm going into my junior year of high school and where I love it's one of the more crucial years because the marks this year are the ones colleges and universities will see first and accept you based on them. Now, I am a smart girl but that doesn't mean I don't have to focus on my school work at all. It always takes top priority which means my updates on this story and future ones will not be as close together.I just wanted to give you all a heads up on it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews are greatly appreciated.

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

Almost four weeks had passed since Nathan's collapse during the basketball game against Cove City. After about two weeks the town had finally stopped talking about what happened and accepted the fact that they would never know the real reason behind Nathan's collapse. Dan had done a good job at covering up the drug use and chalked his son's black out up to dehydration and exhaustion. Although it was quite close to the truth, those closest to him who knew the full story were aware that if the word got out that Nathan used performance enhancers then he would most likely lose his shot at playing college basketball.

Nathan and Haley's relationship was going as good as it could be. The couple spent almost every waking moment in each other's presence. They had remained drama free and thankfully, Rachel seemed to finally get the message that Haley wasn't going anywhere and backed off a little. Likewise, guys around school had finally stopped gawking at the petite blonde, realizing that she was off limits.

"Nathan, stop!" Haley laughed when he continued his tickling assault on her.

"Say it, Hales!"

"No!"

"Then I'm not gonna stop," he told her.

"Fine!" she said and Nathan briefly subsided. "Nathan Scott is the sexiest man on the planet. I'm so lucky he's my boyfriend," she recited the words he had told her to say.

Nathan smirked and put his hand over his heart. "That's the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me, Hales."

"Oh shut up," Haley said and playfully punched his bicep. Nathan was about to start his tickling back up again when Karen's voice halted him.

"Haley! There's someone at the door for you," she yelled from down stairs.

Haley looked confused. "Who would be at the door for me?"

Nathan shrugged unknowingly and took her hand in his. "Let's go find out."

When Haley reached the top of the stairs and looked down she smiled wide and dropped her boyfriend's hand. Instantly running down the stairs she squealed happily. "Jake!" she yelled and jumped into his open arms.

Jake picked up his best friend excitedly and swung her around in his arms. He put her back down on the ground after a few moments but kept his tight hold on her. "Hi, beautiful," he said with a dashing smile. "I missed you so much."

Haley hugged him even tighter and rested her head on his chest. Jake kissed the top of her head lovingly before finally pulling away. The duo then became of away of the audience they had garnered. Jake greeted both Karen and Keith with a smile before turning to the tall blonde. "Hey man, I'm Jake," he said and held out a hand.

Lucas took his hand and shook it firmly. "Lucas. I'm Haley's cousin."

Jake then turned his attention to Nathan who was standing a little father back than everyone else. "Which means you must be Nathan?" Jake asked and puffed his chest out slightly, but only Haley seemed to notice. Nathan nodded and stepped forward.

"Yeah, Haley's boyfriend," Nathan said uncomfortably. He wasn't sure what to think of this guy yet, but he knew he didn't like how affectionate he and Haley were with each other. Grudgingly, Nathan took Jake's hand and shook it as hard as he could. He noticed the amusement in Jake's eyes and found himself becoming increasingly territorial.

With official greetings behind them, Karen and Keith retired back to the den leaving Haley, Jake, Lucas, and Nathan standing together in the foyer.

"I still can't believe you're here! You weren't supposed to fly in until tomorrow evening."

"I know, but I couldn't wait to see my best friend. Besides, it's a weekend anyway so I'm not missing anything in California."

"Well, I have plans to hang out at Brooke's house with her so I'll leave you guys to catch up. It's really nice to finally meet you, Jake," Lucas said and shook the brunette's hand again.

"Yeah, likewise," Jake said politely.

"Are you finally gonna ask Brooke out tonight, Luke?" Haley teased and Lucas looked at her annoyed. "What? It's been like three weeks since you guys talked and confessed your feelings for each other. What are you waiting for?"

"I just want it to be the perfect moment. It'll come soon, I'm sure of it."

"Whatever you say. She's getting kind of anxious about it though, you know. She told me a few days ago that she doesn't get what you're waiting for. You can't keep a girl like Brooke waiting forever."

Looking slightly nervous, Lucas said one last good bye to the group and walked out the front door, leaving the remaining trio standing in an awkward silence.

"Why don't you take your bags up to my room, Jake? It's upstairs, the first door on the left."

Jake obliged and started up the staircase. When his form disappeared into Haley's bedroom she turned to look at her boyfriend wearily. "Do you think you could give Jake and I some alone time so we can catch up?"

"Yeah sure," Nathan said calmly. "I guess it's not a good idea to have your best friend and your boyfriend get to know each other better."

"Nathan, it's not like that. I just haven't seen Jake in over a month and I want a chance to catch up with him and show him around town by ourselves. Of course I want you two to get to know each other and be friends, but right now I just want my best friend all to myself."

"Whatever," Nathan shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I'll see you tomorrow at school, I guess," he said and turned and walked stoically out the front door. Haley watched in surprise, completely caught off guard by her boyfriend leaving like that. She couldn't help but notice that her normally over affectionate boy failed to even give her a quick peck on the cheek before he left.

She didn't let it bother her for long though, remembering that Jake was upstairs in her room waiting for her. She excitedly jogged up the stairs and into the bedroom. Jake raised his eyebrows when he saw her enter the room alone. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He has a name you know. It's Nathan and he went home so that we could spend some time together alone."

"How nice of him," Jake said sardonically and Haley glared at him.

"It's one thing for you to hate him when you were in California and had yet to meet him, but now that you're here you have to give him a chance. All I'm asking is that you make an effort to be nice to him and get to know him before you leave."

"Fine, I'll make an effort," Jake conceded and smiled brightly at his friend. "Now, what do you say to giving me the Tree Hill grand tour?"

"I say that sounds perfect," Haley said and took his hand in order to pull him up from her bed. After a few failed attempts to move his lying form Jake stood up on his own and wrapped an arm around her. After checking in with Karen and Keith and letting them know their plans Haley and Jake headed out the door and started walking in the direction of downtown Tree Hill.

"So, where are we heading first?"

"The Riverwalk. It's my favourite place in the town," Haley smiled at him.

"Any particular reason why it's your favourite?" Jake asked with a cocked brow.

Haley smiled even wider. "It's a special place for Nathan and I. We spend about an hour on the docks every morning when I tutor him. It's kinda where we got to really know each other."

"A dumb jock? Wow, can't say you've ever dated one of those before," Jake said once again using heavy sarcasm.

"What did I say to you a couple minutes ago? Don't be so quick to judge Nathan when you don't even know anything about him. If you're going to act like this the entire time you're here you might as well go back home, Jake. I'm not going to stand for you being rude and hating on my boyfriend," Haley said angrily.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I don't want to start fighting with you after being in town for less than half an hour."

"Then don't say things that you know will upset me."

"I know, Hales. The idea of you having a boyfriend just doesn't sit well with me. It never has. Need I remind you how your last relationship ended and all the problems it caused between us when you were with Damien?"

Haley stiffened at the mention of her murderer ex boyfriend. "What happened between us when I was with Damien is not going to happen again, Jake. Nathan isn't like that and I'm not about to lose my best friend over a guy for the second time. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Of course I do, Haley. When it comes to you I'm always worried about something. You are my best friend and I care about you too much not to worry about you."

Haley smiled at him. "I love you, Jake, but sometimes you have to stop being so protective and let me live my life."

"I'm trying to," Jake assured her and took in his surroundings as they stopped walking. "I can see why this is your favourite place in town. It really is something else."

"I know. It's even more special early in the morning when not as many people are walking up and down the boardwalk. That's Karen's Cafe over there on the corner, I've been spending a lot of time there lately. It helps that I eat for free because my aunt owns it," Haley said while pointing to the quaint cafe a little ways away from them.

"Come on. Let's walk along the river a bit," Jake said a cocked his head in the direction of the wooden planks. When they had made their way over and began walking along the fast flowing Cape Fear the duo fell into a familiar comfortable silence.

"So, how are things back in Wasatch without me?"

"Dull and lonely," Jake admitted sadly. "It's not the same being there without you. I hang out with the guys more but even that isn't the same without you there cheering me on during our basketball games."

"I know it sucks, Jakey. At least we've only got six months left of school before graduation and then we can spend the summer together before going off to college in the fall," she said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I can't wait to spend two whole months with you. How are things going for you here?"

"They're okay. I still think about mom and dad every day but it's getting a bit easier for me now. I've made friends but obviously none of them are you. Luke and I have gotten really close in the past month and a half; I don't know what I would do without him sometimes. Karen and Keith have been really great to me, too. I like Tree Hill and it's finally starting to feel a little bit like home. I could never forget about California though."

"I'm glad to hear you're happy here. That's all that I want for you."

"I know, Jake. Don't forget to be happy too, you know," Haley reminded him and he smiled down at her.

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"I am happy," Haley told him.

"Good," Jake said with a smile and stopped walking when he noticed Haley had halted. "Why are we stopping...?"

"We've reached our second stop of the tour."

Jake cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "An old warehouse?"

"No, this is Tric. It's the all ages club that my aunt and Nathan's mom own. I've only actually been inside it when it was open once and it was packed. It's a cool place to hang out a night though. I know I had lots of fun at the Halloween party they had here a few weeks ago."

"It looks... nice," Jake said.

Haley laughed. "Well, what do you expect from a small town like Tree Hill? Come on, let's keep going. Aside from Tree Hill high we only have one other place to go on our tour."

"Where's that?"

"You'll see. I think you're really gonna like this place though."

After walking for a little while, Jake and Haley crossed and a white pedestrian bridge and arrived on the other side of the Cape Fear at an old paved basketball court. "Wow, you're right. I do like it here."

With a smile on her face, Haley led her best friend over to the wooden picnic table at the side of the court. Jake looked around the quiet area and took it all in. The hidden court really was peaceful. "The guys come here all the time and play for fun and the girls and I all sit and watch. I like it here, it reminds me of watching you and guys play basketball against each other at your house in California."

Jake smiled. "My backyard court doesn't even begin to compare to this place."

"Yeah," Haley agreed softly and stood up. Walking over to a bush, she pulled out a worn looking basketball and bounced it goofily with both her hands. "Get up and play with me! Unless you're afraid I'll beat you," she teased.

"You're kidding right? James, you know you could never beat me at my own game," Jake said as he ran towards her and stole the ball from her mid-bounce. He kept running to the net and jumped up, slamming it though the metal hoop.

"Alright, so now that you've proven you're all macho, can we play?" Haley joked and picked up the ball that had rolled onto the grass.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour. What are we playing, horse?"

"You bet your ass we are," Haley responded and chucked the ball granny style from the free throw line. She watched it circle around the net before falling in.

Jake rolled his eyes. "You would start with the shot you know I can never make. New rule starting now, no using granny style. It's not even a real way to shoot!"

Haley smirked. "Upset that you aren't as gifted at this game as I am? Now stop your whining and take the shot!"

Jake huffed in mock annoyance and grabbed the ball from her. He stood in Haley's previous spot and swung the ball back and forth underneath his legs. After repeating the action several times, Jake closed one eye and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. He heard Haley chuckling under her breath but he chose to ignore her. Swinging the ball one last time Jake let it go and watched it hit the back board of the net. Much to his chagrin the basketball bounced off it and fell away from the net, not even coming close to going through the hoop.

Haley immediately busted out laughing. "That was quite impressive. But I believe that miserable fail gives you an 'H'."

"Shut up!" Jake exclaimed and made a move to chase after her slowly retreating form. Haley screamed and picked up her pace. Unfortunately for her, Jake ran much faster a caught her within moments. He threw her small form over his shoulder and tickled her sides.

"Jake, stop!" Haley laughed while pounding on his back. He conceded and stopped tickling her only to start spinning them both as fast as he could."If you don't stop right now I'm going to throw up all over you!"

Jake immediately halted his movements and set Haley back down onto her feet. Haley smirked at him and picked up the ball once again. "You really are the most gullible person I've ever met."

Jake stuck his tongue out at the petite girl. "Shut up and take your next shot."

Haley laughed and turned to shoot. For the next twenty minutes the duo went back and forth taking their shots, some of them going in and some of them falling short.

"So, that would be an 'E' for you, right? And then that would mean you're a horse?" Haley asked jokingly.

Jake was still a bit in shock. Some of the shots she had made in the game were complete flukes and despite playing on a basketball team, he still lost. Haley had only ever beaten him at this game once and it was when they were twelve and he let her win. Haley couldn't hold in her laughter during their walk back to her house.

When they entered her house, Jake was still trying to grasp his loss. The pair walked into the kitchen and Karen greeted them with a smile. "Hi kids, how was your day together?"

"It was great," Haley said. "I still can't believe my best friend is here with me though."

Karen nodded. "Well, Keith, Lucas, and Brooke are already at the table and dinner is going to be ready in just a minute so you two can go in and take a seat as well."

When they walked into the dining room Jake and Haley sat down next to each other. "Hey guys. Jake, this is my girlfriend, Brooke," Lucas introduced them with a broad smile.

Jake introduced himself and Haley's eyes bugged out of her head. "No way! You guys are finally dating?"

"Yeah!" Brooke exclaimed excitedly. "He was so nervous when he asked too. It was so cute," she finished and kissed her boyfriend lovingly on the cheek as he blushed softly. Keith chuckled at his son's embarrassment but remained quiet otherwise.

Karen walked into the room and set the food on the table. Everyone immediately began helping themselves and eating the delicious meal.

"Are you sure you don't need any help cleaning up, Aunt Karen?" Haley asked after everyone had finished eating.

"No, I'm fine Haley. You and Jake go do what you guys want."

Haley accepted her aunt's response and led Jake up to her bedroom. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. I have to get up for school tomorrow so I think I'm about ready for bed."

Jake chuckled. "You never were very good at staying up late. I know how you feel though; it's been a long day for me travelling and everything."

Walking over to her pyjama drawer Haley pulled out something to wear to bed. Jake unzipped his suitcase and pulled out something to wear as well. The pair turned their backs to each other and changed before getting into Haley's bed a snuggling up to each other, just like they always had when they had a sleep over and shared a bed.

"Are your aunt and uncle okay with us sharing a bed?" Jake asked apprehensively.

Haley shrugged slightly. "I don't see why they wouldn't be. They know I have a boyfriend and nothing is ever going to happen between us. You're like my brother," she said grossed out.

Jake laughed. "I see your point. Good night Hales, I love you," he said and squeezed her tightly.

"I love you too, Jakey," Haley replied and moved closer to him.

Jake and Haley both feel asleep with a smile on their faces, happy to finally be back in each other's presence; even if it would only last for a week.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello all! I come to you from my warm bed with a wicked hangover and trying not to freeze my butt off at this ridiculous weather. Something last night must have inspired me because I woke up this morning itching to write! I'm not extremely thrilled with this chapter, but it'll have to do. School starts tomorrow for me, so again updates are likely going to be less frequent but I'm going to try my best. Hope y'all enjoy this one.

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

Stomping angrily across the quad Nathan made the conscious decision to not even look at her. He was going to walk right by his group of friends and head straight to his locker to put all his stuff away. He could feel her eyes burning a hole in his back when he passed by, but frankly he was just way too pissed off at her to even care.

Nathan had to admit though, as pissed off as he was he felt some semblance of satisfaction when he heard her quick, light footsteps approaching him from behind. "What is your problem?" she demanded.

His satisfaction disappeared when he heard her annoyed tone. He grunted and continued with his determined pace. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"I'm looking at him," Haley responded becoming increasingly confused by Nathan's behaviour.

Nathan scoffed and hurriedly opened his locker. Before he managed to reach in and put his stuff away though, Haley slammed it back shut. "Was that really necessary?" Nathan sighed agitatedly.

"It got you to actually look at me, didn't it?"

"What do you want, Haley?"

Haley cocked an eyebrow. "I would think it's obvious. I want to know why you're being such a grouch and ignoring me."

"I would think it's obvious," Nathan repeated her words and opened his locker for a second time.

"Well it's not, so why don't you just tell me why you're so pissed off?"

"I saw you with him," Nathan grunted and slammed his locker door shut forcefully. He turned and glared at her with fire in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked in disbelief. Neither of the couple seemed to realize that their quarrelling was attracting a lot of attention from their fellow classmates.

"You and Jake. I saw you with him this morning," he elaborated. Haley looked taken aback and stared at him in shock.

"When?"

_Nathan slipped quietly through the Roe's front door. "Nathan, what are you doing here?" Karen asked when she saw his large frame in the front hallway. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard her soft voice from behind him._

_"I came to see Haley," he explained with his heart still racing._

_Karen smiled softly and apologetically for scaring him. "She's actually still asleep. I was about to go wake her up so I'll tell her you're here."_

_"Do you think that I uh could wake her up?" he said uncomfortably._

_Karen laughed under breath and nodded. "Sure, go on up. Just try not to distract her too much, you two have to get to school soon."_

_"I won't, I promise," Nathan told her and started up the stair case. He made it to his girlfriend's bedroom door and decided against knocking. He turned the knob and slowly pushed on it. Peering in through the small crack he had made, Nathan's jaw clenched. He was expecting to see his gorgeous girl friend sleeping soundly in her bed. What he didn't expect was to see his gorgeous girlfriend sleeping soundly in her bed while cuddled up next to that punk Jake. Her head was resting on his chest and he had his arm around her waist, much too close to her ass for his liking._

_The pair looked way too content in each other's arms to have only ever been best friends. Nathan felt is blood start to boil and he pulled the door back shut roughly. He stomped back down stairs and met Karen in the kitchen. "I'm heading out now."_

_"That was awfully fast," she mused._

_"Yeah, well Haley was a little preoccupied already."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Haley was busy cuddling up to her precious Jake. I wouldn't want to ever disturb them," he ground out furiously. He was absolutely convinced that the image of _his_ girl lying in bed like that with another guy would never leave him._

_"They were in the same bed?" Karen asked surprised._

_"You didn't know?"_

_"No, but I can't say I'm surprised. From what I saw between them when Keith and I went to California, Jake and Haley are extremely close with each other."_

_Nathan visibly tensed up even more than he already was. "Something about their relationship rubs me the wrong way."_

_"Relax, Nathan. Haley is head over heels for you. There's not a chance that she would ever even think about leaving you for someone else. Her and Jake are just friends, bit if it makes you feel any better I'm going to have a chat with her about the sleeping arrangements in place right now."_

_"Thanks, Karen. I should go now," Nathan said and turned to leave._

_"Nathan," Karen's voice halted him. "I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but take it easy on Haley. Jake is her best friend and was the only person who could help her after Jimmy and my sister's accident. He means a lot to her."_

_Nathan nodded but didn't dare to agree out loud to Karen's request. He didn't care how much Jake had helped Haley through things in the past, he wasn't needed anymore. Haley had her boyfriend to help her and console her now, so this ass, who may or may not be trying to steal his girl, could back the fuck up. As for Haley, she just needs to figure out how to rely on her boyfriend instead of her best friend and learn that when you're in a relationship, there are certain boundaries you have to set with male friends; preferably to just not have any._

Haley looked at her boyfriend remorsefully. Although in her eyes she didn't do anything wrong, she could see how Nathan's feelings may have been hurt by seeing his girlfriend in what he would have assumed to be an intimate embrace with another boy. "Nathan, that really was nothing. Jake and I have always been close and affectionate like this with each other."

"Trust me, I've noticed. I've also noticed the way he looks at you and I don't like it, Haley."

"The way he looks at me?" Haley asked incredulously. She scoffed and shook her head, only then becoming aware of the audience they had garnered. She rolled her eyes at the pathetic teens who had nothing better to do than to watch Tree Hill High's resident king fight with his girlfriend. Haley grabbed Nathan's hand roughly and dragged him into a nearby empty classroom, closing the door shut behind them. She attempted to calm herself down for a minute before turning and facing Nathan again, her anger resurfacing when she saw the expectant and condescending look on his face. "Jake doesn't look at me any different now than he has the entire time I've known him."

"Which is exactly the problem!"

"Oh my God, what are you going off about now?" she asked becoming more confused by the second.

"Jake is in love with you!" he spat out his words like they left a bad taste in his mouth.

Haley immediately burst out laughing. "Nathan, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"It's not funny, Haley. I don't want you talking to him anymore. Tell him to go back to California and cut off contact."

"I know you don't expect me to cut my best friend out my life because of some messed up insecurity you have."

"This isn't about me being insecure; it's about him trying to go after you."

Haley laughed softly and felt her anger begin to dissipate. "You know, you're kind of sexy when you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous," he declared stubbornly.

"Oh yes you are, but its okay, I like it. For the record, even if Jake was in love with me, it wouldn't matter. You know why?" she asked and took a step closer to her boyfriend while biting her lip.

Nathan shook his head no and grabbed her arms to pull her the rest of the way to him. Haley smiled and stood on her tip toes so her mouth was level with his ear. "Because I'm in love with _you_," she whispered and kissed his cheek before pulling away to look him in the eye and judge his reaction.

Nathan was at a loss for words. His girlfriend, the girl whom he had realized not too long ago that he was already madly in love with had just told him she loved him too. It was quite possibly the last thing he expected her to say to him when minutes prior she looked as if she was about ready to wring his neck. He squeezed his arms that were around her waist and pulled her as close to him as possibly. His eyes that were locked with her own diverted their attention to her pink lips. God he loves those lips. Without a second thought Nathan connected his lips onto hers in a deep kiss.

The couple reluctantly pulled apart minutes later when air became an issue. Nathan smiled at his girlfriend softly. "I love you too, Hales."

Haley let out a girlish giggle and smiled brightly up at Nathan. "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"Yeah, I'm still not fond of Jake though."

Haley sighed. "Nathan, he's my best friend and whether you like it or not he's going to be around and you two have to get used to each other. I'm going to say the same thing I said to him, just get to know each other and give him a shot. That's all I'm asking."

"Okay, I'll give him a chance. Only because I love you, though," he said with a cheeky smile and leaned down for another kiss. Just as he was about to deepen it, the sound of the bell signalling five minutes until the commencement of first period rang loudly. They grudgingly pulled apart but remained in each other's arms for a few more seconds. Opening the class room door again, Nathan walked down the hall hand in hand and noticed that more than a few of their class mates were still staring at them.

Nathan rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Can't these idiots find anything more interesting than you and I?"

"In a small town like this, I think drama between Tree Hill high's ruler and his girlfriend is the most interesting thing going on."

"Yeah, well they need to get lost."

"Or, we could just them a show," Haley suggested when they stopped outside her homeroom class. Nathan smirked, obviously being a fan of what she was insinuating. His smirk widened when Haley grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to meet her. She immediately opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to enter and clash with hers. Haley smiled against his lips when she heard Nathan moan softly into her mouth. The pair continued with their make out session display for their gawking peers until they heard someone speak from beside them.

"Okay, ew. My cousin and my best friend making out is so not something I need to see this early in the morning."

The couple detached their lips and both turned to see Lucas and Julian looking slightly grossed out. Nathan was glaring at both of them for the interruption and Haley blushed at being called out.

"Whatever, man," Nathan grumbled and kissed Haley's cheek. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Haley leaned up kissed his cheek as well. "Okay, I love you," she whispered into his ear happily and Nathan repeated the gesture.

Lucas made fake gagging noises at the couple as he walked into class and took his normal seat between Haley and Julian. Haley elbowed him in the side and shook her head. Truthfully, she wasn't at all embarrassed to be called out on making out with her super hot boyfriend. He was sexy and she needed to let all the girls in Tree Hill know that he was off limits.

* * *

><p>"So I guess that rumour of you two being ready to kill each other in the hall ways this morning isn't true," Brooke said amused when she sat down at the group's regular lunch table and saw Nathan and Haley practically in the early stages of foreplay.<p>

"Well I wouldn't say we were ready to kill each other necessarily," Haley said with a shrug.

"So you guys were fighting then?" Peyton assumed.

Haley shrugged again. "If you have to put a label on it, then I guess."

"Care to share what it was about?"

Haley laughed at Brooke's nosiness and Nathan grunted at the mention of their squabble. "There's not much to share. Only that my lovely boy friend here was a little jealous," she explained and smiled at her annoyed boyfriend. She soothed him by planting a soft kiss in the crook of his neck. "I kind of loved it though," she continued so only he could hear.

Nathan's new found smirk wasn't lost upon any of his friends. "I'm not even gonna ask what Haley just said to you to make you look that pleased," Lucas shuddered.

"Don't worry Luke, it was nothing your virgin ears couldn't have handled," Haley teased.

"Okay, you've been spending way too much time with Nathan," Lucas accused while trying to deflect the conversation off of his virginity. The last thing he wanted was for people to start thinking he was still a virgin and dating Brooke Davis.

Haley leaned closer into Nathan's chest from her seated position on his lap. She looked unabashedly at her cousin. "I don't think I could ever spend too much time with him."

"You two are so in love, it's sickening."

The young couple ignored Peyton's comment and continued on with staring lovingly into each other's eyes. When they leaned in to start kissing like they always did, Lucas protested loudly. "Can you two just stop with the PDA all together? It's becoming seriously disturbing."`

"Why don't you worry a little more about pleasing your own woman and a little less about what me and Haley are doing," Nathan grumbled.

Brooke snorted and rubbed her boyfriend's arm while he glared at the moody boy. "You are such a grouch when you're not the main guy in Haley's life, Natey."

Haley winced and discretely shook her head at Brooke, begging her to drop the subject of Jake before it really got started. She felt her boyfriend's arms around her squeeze her tighter. Blowing out an exasperated breath Haley leaned further into Nathan's chest and squeezed his hand in reassurance. When Nathan still didn't seem acquiesced she smiled at him and stood up. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She smiled at her friends in good bye and dragged a confused Nathan behind her to the parking lot. "Do you have your keys on you?"

"Yeah. Where are we going, Hales? Lunch is almost over."

"We, my lovely boyfriend, are leaving. As for where we're going, you tell me. Since we didn't get to spend any time together yesterday we're going to spend the rest of today just the two of us."

"Mm that sounds like fun," Nathan said upbeat and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "How do you feel about going to the beach?"

"In November? Nathan's it'll be freezing out there," Haley reasoned with a laugh.

"Who cares? You told me once that you used to love going to the beach in California. We've never been there together and I think it'll be nice. The place will be deserted so we can do whatever we want," he said and wiggled his eye brows suggestively.

She chuckled and shook her head. "I'll tell you right now that our first time together is not going to be on the beach in the middle of the day where anyone could see us."

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged with a smirk.

She punched him lightly in the shoulder. She knew when he had suggested it that he was kidding. Nathan was well aware that sex was a pretty big deal for her and that she still wasn't quite ready to do it with him yet. He was being amazing about it though, incredibly understanding and patient with her despite his feelings and what she knew he wanted. Hopping into the passenger seat of his car, Haley smiled a wide smile at him when he bent down and kissed her cheek lightly before walking to the driver's side and getting in.

Pulling up to the beach Haley saw that Nathan was right, it was deserted. Not a single soul was insight and the thought made Haley feel extremely content. Thinking about it, Nathan and Haley had never actually spent time together where they were completely alone like this. There were always cars driving around them or people walking by and looking at them curiously.

"Wow," she breathed. "I forgot how much I love the beach.

Nathan smiled and clasped his hand around her smaller one. He guided her over to a spot in the sand where the waves just ended. They sat down next to each other and sat in silence for a few moments. "It's beautiful out here. Like another world."

"You're beautiful," Nathan stated simply in reply. Haley blushed a light shade of pink at his compliment and offered a dazzling smile in thanks.

"You always come up with the best lines."

"Babe, you haven't even seen my A game yet."

"Oh Lord, help me if that's true," Haley drawled and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his enticing lips. Nathan wasn't having that though and immediately deepened the kiss. He combed his hand through her honey blonde locks and pulled her so she was on top of him in their laying down position. Nathan's tongue traced the outline of her lips and she granted him access. The couple pulled away from the intense kiss minutes later when air became an issue. Nathan smiled contentedly at Haley and ran both his hands up and down her back. Haley returned his soft smile and popped another light kiss onto his lips.

Haley's smile faded when she noticed the mischievous glint in his blue orbs. "Nathan..." she started uneasily. Before she had a chance to say anything further he picked them both up and tossed her over his broad shoulder.

Laughing like she didn't have a care in world Haley shouted. "Nathan Scott you put me down right now!"

"No can do, Hales," he said and started running into the crashing waves. He ignored the frigid temperature and moved into the vast ocean until the water hit just above his waist.

"I mean it, Nathan! Let me go!"

"If you say so," Nathan smirked and dropped his unsuspecting girl friend into the water. When she resurfaced her mouth was hanging open in shock and she glared at him.

"You are so going to pay for that!" she declared and jumped roughly onto his back, trying in vain to dunk his head under. The young couple played happily in the water with each other, completely forgetting everything else going on in their lives for a little while.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Haley James, where on Earth have you been?" Karen's voice reverberated through the house as soon as she had closed the front door behind her and Nathan.

"I think we're in trouble," she giggled and looked up at her boyfriend goofily. The couple had the good sense to look apologetic when they heard Karen's stomping footsteps approach the foyer.

"Well?" the angry thirty something demanded when she reached the two teens. "I've been trying to call you for over an hour but have gotten no response. And why are the both of you wet, is it raining?"

"Sorry, I forgot my phone in my locker and no it isn't raining, we went to the beach."

"So, you thought it was a good idea to ditch the last half of the school day to go spend some time at the beach?"

"Yeah," Haley bit her lip nervously and felt Nathan cower behind her slightly. She rolled her eyes at that and elbowed him in the ribs.

"I'm disappointed in you two. I thought I could trust you to not try to get Haley to do these types of things with you, Nathan."

"No, Aunt Karen, it wasn't Nathan's idea to go to the beach. I was the one that dragged him off campus in the first place."

Karen sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to ream out her niece for skipping her last two classes. It's not like this was regular behaviour for her so she decided to let it slide this time. "Alright, go upstairs and put some dry clothes on and then come back down for dinner. Nathan, you can borrow something of Lucas'. I don't want to hear about this happening again though, got it?" she asked sternly to which both teens nodded relieved.

"Got it," Haley replied and pulled Nathan quickly up the stairs.

"Wait," he practically growled when they were about to part ways. Haley glanced at him with a smile and stepped backwards so her body was pinned against the wall by his large frame. Nathan put his hands on the wall on either side of Haley's head and smirked. He leaned down swiftly and captured her lips. It was a steamy kiss that was full of passion, but ended far too quickly in both teen's minds. They knew they couldn't carry on that way though, with Haley's family just below them. They both had large smiles on their faces upon parting and slowly drew apart from each other.

"Go grab something of Lucas'; I'll meet you back downstairs."

Nathan obliged and walked into Lucas' bedroom while Haley turned and opened her own door. She jumped back when she saw that Jake was lying on her bed staring at her as soon as she walked in. "Wow, it's nice of you to finally show up. Did you forget that your best friend is in town to see you, or did you just not care?"

"Of course I remember, and I obviously care. I was spending time with my boyfriend and we lost track of time."

"You must really love him if you're willing to skip class for him. Last time I checked, school meant a hell of a lot to you and you wouldn't dare intentionally miss it."

"I do love him," Haley confirmed and Jake snarled. "I'm not in the mood to fight with you about this, Jake. Just let it go, it's not even a big deal."

"Whatever," Jake said and fell silent. He really didn't want to fight again with Haley over her prick of a boyfriend. "Is he here?"

"Yes, he's here and I expect you to be on your best behaviour, just like he will be."

Jake clenched his jaw but opted to not say anything in return. He raised his brow when he noticed Haley grab a change of clothes and begin to head out of the room. "Where are you going?"

She looked down at the clothes in her arms and back up at him as though the answer were obvious. "I'm going to change, in case you didn't notice I'm soaking wet."

"I know that, but why are you leaving the room to do that? For as long as I can remember we've just changed in the same room as each other, what's changed all of a sudden?"

"What's changed is that I have a boyfriend who I love. I doubt he'd be very pleased to find out that his girlfriend is getting almost completely naked in front of some other guy."

"Yeah, but you're forgetting that I'm not just some other guy," Jake smiled. "I happen to be your very best friend."

"That's beside the point. You are still a guy that isn't Nathan, which means it'd be a problem."

"But it'd be okay if it were Nathan that was the one that was seeing you almost or completely naked?" Jake fired back, clearly bothered by the thought of Haley having sex.

"Oh my God, I'm not having this conversation with you right now. All I'm going to tell you is I haven't slept with Nathan yet. The rest is absolutely none of your business."

"Why? As much as I hated it, you talked to me about sex when you were with Damien."

"And look how far that got us? Do you not recall freezing me out for the better half of a month when you found out I finally gave it up to him? Besides, my relationship with Nathan is not even close to the same as what my relationship with Damien was. I never had strong feelings for Damien like I do for Nathan and our sex life is private, even to best friends."

Jake threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'll leave that subject, for now. Come on, let's get down stairs and have dinner, your Aunt wanted to wait to eat until you got home and I'm starving."

Haley laughed softly at her friend's appetite. It seemed to her that he was always hungry. The duo walked out of Haley's bedroom and down the stairs into the dining room together. Nathan was already seated at the table with Lucas and Brooke across from him. Haley smiled at her boyfriend and took a seat next him, with Jake sitting down on the other side of her.

"Wow, Brooke. You're here for dinner two nights in a row. I'm starting to get a little sick of you," Haley joked to try to ease the tension rolling off the boys on either side of her.

"You're gonna have to get used to me, Hales. We're going to be the best of friends with me spending a lot of time here now," she returned, catching on to what Haley was attempting. "But from what I here, Natey over here is present for almost all dinners, too."

"Yeah, but I was doing that long before Haley and I had ever even met," Nathan joined in. Haley, Lucas, and Brooke offered him a sympathetic smile, each of them well aware that the reason for Nathan being a staple in the Roe's home had a lot to do with his mother never being around and his father always drilling him about basketball and not caring about anything else. "Although it's even more appealing to be here all the time when I know I'll get to see my beautiful girl," he commented smoothly.

Haley blushed softly and sent her boyfriend a dazzling smile. She kissed his cheek softly before turning her attention to her aunt and uncle walking into the room with dinner. She was grateful for the addition of two more buffers in the room, hoping in vain that Nathan and Jake would both be true to their words and behave themselves.

Things in the room were tense to say the least though. Everyone was aware of the disdain between the two boys on either side of Haley. They were both making it very clear that they held no respect for the other. Between sly jokes cracked at the other's expense being made under their breath and chuckling mockingly or snorting every time the other piped in during conversation, Haley was becoming increasingly fed up with their lack of maturity.

By the time dinner was finally finished Haley was so angry that she silently rose from her chair and began helping Karen bring all the dirty dishes into the kitchen despite the older woman's protests. "Alright, Haley you've done enough now. Thank you for all your help, but now I want you to go back out there and have fun with the other kids."

Haley scoffed. "I wouldn't call have to constantly be the referee between my boyfriend and best friend fun."

Karen looked at her sympathetically. "I know Jake and Nathan don't seem to be getting a long right now, but they've just met each other. I'm sure after spending more time together that they'll get know each other better and grow to appreciate the unique relationships you have with them."

"I sincerely hope you're right. It's only been like a day and I already don't know how much more of the snide remarks from both of them I can take," she confessed and walked back into the dining room to catch the tail end of Lucas asking Nathan if he wanted to shoot around a little in their driveway.

Nathan noticed her re-entering the room and looked to her to make sure she was okay with him hanging out with her cousin for a little while. She smiled at him and nodded her head. "Do you play ball, Jake?" Lucas asked him after Nathan took him up on his offer.

"Yeah, I've been on my high school's team since freshman year."

"Oh, cool. Did you wanna play with us too? You versus me and then Nathan can play the winner," he suggested.

"Sure, that sounds fun," Jake said happy that Lucas seemed to like him and wanted to include him.

Nathan was on the verge of protesting but bit his tongue when he saw the look of contentment on Haley's face. He knew she was annoyed with him over dinner for being a smart ass sometimes, but he couldn't help himself. Seeing the happiness dancing in her eyes at the prospect of him possibly 'bonding' or some shit with Jake was enough to make him not say anything. If playing a game of ball with the dude was going to make her happy, then he sure as hell was going to do it. "Are you coming, Hales?" he asked and kicked his head in the direction of the front door.

It seemed it was only when he spoke that she realized Lucas, Brooke, and Jake had all already headed out to the driveway where the basketball hoop was set up. She blushed softly because she'd been caught zoning out and took his proffered hand. She allowed him to lead them out to the front porch of the quaint home and sat down on his lap when he took a seat on the front steps a few feet away from the side of the driveway. They watched in silence as Jake and Lucas started their one on one game against each other and Brooke stood nearby cheering her boyfriend on.

"You know, just because I'm sitting on your lap doesn't mean I'm not still pissed off at you," Haley spoke up a few minutes later.

"Awe, c'mon Hales. You know I tried my best to be civil around the guy, but it's hard. He just irks me."

"That still isn't an excuse to be an asshole every time he's around. I don't care how much you dislike him, I expect you to be mature about it and let it go for my sake. Remember me, the girlfriend that you love? That's what love is, Nathan; making sacrifices."

Nathan blew out a deep breath and wrapped his arms tighter around her stomach. He dropped a soft kiss in the crook of her neck and buried his face in her hair. After a few seconds he started moving one hand up her stomach and softly groped her left breast. Haley smacked his hand away and instantly slid out his slap and put a space between them. "You can't seriously expect trying to seduce me or something will get you off the hook here? That is not going to fly, mister. In fact, you'll be lucky if you get any sort of affection from me for the rest of the night."

Nathan's mouth dropped open in shock. "You wouldn't do that! You like kissing me way too much."

"Watch me," Haley said with a taunting smirk. She was dead serious, but had to admit she was also finding some amusement in the devastated and lost look Nathan was sporting.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Nathan knew the only way to get Haley to change her mind was to turn her on. He laced their fingers together and pulled her in front of the porch so her back was resting on the wood and he was boxing her in. He ran is finger lightly up the length of her arm and gazed into her deep chocolate eyes. "I know you can't resist me, Hales," he stated matter-of-factly and leaned down to capture her lips in what he anticipated to be a passionate kiss. Before their lips locked however, Haley turned her face to the side so that he ended up placing an open mouth kiss on the side of her cheek. She tried to gently push his body away from her own, wanting to stick to her word and play the part of a stern girlfriend for once.

Nathan chuckled at her weak attempt to get him away from her and playfully shimmied closer to her so their bodies were pressed fully up against each other. Haley's eyes darkened when she felt his hard body against her own, but when he once again tried to kiss her she pushed him away again. "No, Nathan. You're on a time out right now."

Jake heard his friend's weak request and when he didn't see the larger boy back away from Haley he immediately walked over to the couple angrily. "Hey man, if she doesn't want you near her, back the fuck off. She clearly said to stop so be a man and leave her alone."

Nathan glared at the boy who clearly had no idea what he was talking about. "I think you're the one that needs to back off. Don't interfere in our business because I'm going to do whatever the hell I want," he said and made a show of squeezing Haley's ass with both his hands. She shook her head at him and pushed him away from her, only to have Jake lunge at him and connect his fist with Nathan's face repeatedly.

Haley screamed at the unexpected turn of events. Her boyfriend was now on the ground and clutching his face after Jake punched him more times than she could even count. She looked at her supposed best friend who was being held back by her cousin and looked at him with a mixture of fear and shock. Never in her life had she seen him become so violent. Knowing Jake wasn't who she needed to be concerned about at the moment, Haley fixed her gaze back on Nathan. She knelt down beside him and put his head in her lap. His nose was slowly beginning to bleed and she could already make out several dark bruises forming on his cheek and around one of his eyes. She started running her fingers through his dark locks and let a traitorous tear run down her cheek. "Are you okay?"

Nathan grunted and got to his feet. The guy was a good fighter; he'd give him that much for sure. Even if he played dirty by not giving him a chance to even see the attack coming, almost all Jake's punches managed to unfortunately connect with his face. "You're fucking lucky Haley's here right now or I'd be beating your ass into the ground right now," he growled.

Jake's taunting chuckle only served to make him want to retaliate even more, but Nathan was more aware than ever that if he laid a hand on Jake that Haley would be livid and more than likely would break up with him. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Jake asked. "Please. One punch and you were already on the floor, pussy."

Nathan tensed but kept his distance from the boy. He was about to respond but Haley beat him to it. She walked the few feet to her friend and slapped him hard across the face. "I can't believe you right now. This isn't you, Jake! I don't know who you are anymore, but if this is the new you I don't want any part of it. I can't even look at you right now, just leave. Go anywhere, I could really care less."

"I'm not going anywhere. No way am I going to leave you here with this jackass," Jake replied and glared at Nathan.

"Fine, go upstairs to your room then and pack your bags. I want you on a flight back to Wasatch first thing tomorrow. It was obviously a mistake having you come here," Haley said brokenly and walked quickly around the house to the backyard.

Jake made a move to follow her but Lucas still had a tight hold around him. "I don't think so," he said angrily and led Jake inside the house and up to his room like Haley had told him to do on his own. This left a still bleeding and battered Nathan alone in the driveway with a stunned and silent Brooke.

"Well, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you lose a fight," Brooke joked but Nathan didn't respond.

"Haley..." Nathan muttered and realized she was probably sitting somewhere crying. "I have to go talk to her," he told Brooke and she smiled and nodded.

"Go make everything better for her, Nate," she encouraged and walked inside the house to find Lucas.

Nathan sighed and rubbed his face. He winced when he remembered all the forming bruises there. Forgetting the momentary pain, Nathan set out to the Roe's backyard and immediately spotted his girlfriend sitting in the corner of the yard against the wooden fence. Her knees were against her chest and her face was buried in them. He took note of how her form was shaking and quickened his pace to her. Nathan sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms tightly. "I'm sorry," he whispered softly into her hair.

Haley looked up at him in surprise. "You have nothing to apologize for, Nathan. You may have been being a little stubborn and egging him on a bit but that didn't make you deserve to be attacked. God, I can't believe he punched you," she cried a little harder.

"Shh, it's okay," Nathan tried to sooth her and rubbed her back gently. "Just let it all out. I'm right here."

And that's what she did. Haley buried her face in her boyfriend's chest and cried until she ran out of tears. She let out every single emotion she was feeling at the moment and Nathan being the good boyfriend that he is, let her. He held her in his protective embrace until she finally fell silent, exhausted from the swirl of emotions she had experienced.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After sitting quietly in Nathan's protective arms for a few minutes Haley looked up at him with a thankful smile on her face. The smile fell quickly when she noticed his nose was still trickling blood and the bruises on his face were even more noticeable. "You're hurt," she stated softly and gently cupped his cheek, careful to not put pressure on his sore wounds.

"I'm fine," Nathan reassured. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay."

"Well, I'll feel ten times better when I know you're not seriously hurt. Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said and stood up. She tried in vain in to pull on his hand in order to get him on his feet as well. When Haley had failed miserably, Nathan chuckled and stood up on his own.

"You know, you dressing up as a nurse has been on my list of sexual fantasies with you for a couple weeks," he winked and Haley rolled her eyes.

"You have a list of fantasies when we haven't even had sex once yet?" she asked in surprise.

"What can I say? You're hot, baby," Nathan confessed with a smirk and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Haley giggled as they walked in to her house through the back door into the kitchen. She grabbed a small rag and wrapped ice in it. Walking slowly back over to Nathan she uneasily pressed the cold make shift ice pack against his cheek. When she saw Nathan wince she immediately pulled her hand away and looked worriedly up at him with tears once again clouding her vision.

"Hey, it's fine. It was just colder than I was expecting," he tried to reassure and forced her hand back up to his cheek.

Haley grabbed Nathan's hand with her free one and guided it up to his cheek as well. She placed it over the ice on his cheek and let go of it. She moved across the room again and wet another rag before walking back to him and stopping in her previous spot. Haley brought the rag up to Nathan's face and wiped the drying blood from under his nose. She dropped her hand when they both turned to look at who just entered the kitchen.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Keith looked at Nathan in shock.

Nathan shrugged and chuckled softly to ease the worry he saw etched in Keith's features. "Our game of basketball got a little rough, I'm fine."

"Really? Is that why Lucas came in basically dragging Jake up the stairs by the collar of his shirt and Brooke came running in a few seconds later asking where he was? Did I mention that his knuckles looked like they were bleeding pretty badly?"

Nathan grimaced and looked apologetically at Keith for lying. "It really isn't a big deal, Keith. It's nothing I can't handle."

The older man looked at the younger one sceptically and sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm not going to tell my wife about this because I have feeling if she found out, there'd be hell to pay for fighting in her house."

"Technically, we weren't in her house if it was in the driveway," Nathan pointed out.

"Do you really think Karen would care if you two were physically in the house or not?" Keith said pointedly.

"Good point," Nathan agreed and cowered at the thought of an angry Karen Roe. "Let's just keep this between us."

Keith chuckled and began to walk out of the room. He stopped and turned back to look at the teenage couple. "Clean up your knucklehead of a boyfriend, Haley. He looks disturbing."

Haley didn't find the humour in her boyfriend being injured and looked up at him sadly. Keith grimaced at his mistake and offered an apologetic look to Nathan who nodded and shrugged it off, it wasn't the older man's fault he upset Haley, it was supposed to be a joke.

When Keith had disappeared from the kitchen doorway the two teens focussed back on each other. Haley immediately launched herself into Nathan's arms and hugged him tightly. "I hate seeing you like this."

"Haley, I promise you, I'm fine. It's just a couple bruises, they'll be gone in a week or two and then I'll be good as new."

When he felt a dampness seeping from his shirt on his chest, Nathan looked down and noticed Haley had soft tears rolling from the corners of her eyes. "Hey, don't cry, baby. Everything is going to be fine, it'll all sort itself out."

"How can everything be fine when the two most important people in my life hate each other and are constantly at each other's throats?"

"I promise it'll all work out eventually. Maybe for right now though, it'd be a good idea to keep Jake and I separated because I can assure you that if he punches me again, I'm going to knock him out."

Haley smiled despite herself and squeezed her arms around Nathan tighter. "Thank you for not hitting him back tonight. I know how hard it probably was, but it means a lot to me."

"I didn't really have a choice," he chuckled. "You would have dumped my ass if I did anything to him."

Haley echoed his chuckled and nodded her head. "That's probably true."

Nathan smiled and kissed Haley lightly in the forehead. "It's getting late, I should head out."

"Okay, I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"How about I pick you up and we can ride to school together?" Nathan suggested.

"That sounds perfect," Haley beamed and kissed him softly. "I'll see you then."

"Okay. Now go and find some time to make up with your best friend. I know how much you love him, even if I don't understand it." Nathan offered Haley one last small smile before heading out the front door of the house. Haley sighed in exhaustion and started up the stairs to her room. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and forget this horrible night. When she walked into her room though, she knew forgetting the night was not going to be coming as quickly as she wanted.

She shook her head in annoyance. "Get out, Jake. I have nothing to say to you right now."

Jake stubbornly remained rooted in his seated position on the end of her bed. He appeared hurt by her words for only a second before he masked it over with anger and a look of rebellion. "I'm not going anywhere until we talk."

"What is there to talk about, other than your massive betrayal? For God's sake Jake, you attacked my boyfriend! It's pretty cut and dry and I don't think there's anything I need to say to you except that you need to go home. You're not the same best friend I had back in California."

"Yes, I am, Haley!" Jake stood up in outrage. "You're the one that's changed. All of a sudden you're skipping classes and spending every single fucking second with that douche bag!"

"Seriously? You're going to go there again? I'm still the exact same person I've always been, except now I'm even happier. I'm finally learning to live my life to the fullest and Nathan is a huge part of that. I'm in love with him and nothing is going to change that, especially not you disliking him."

Jake growled angrily. "This is exactly what happened when you were with Damien. You started to become obsessed with him and forgot about everyone else in your life that mattered. You just let some jack ass become more important than the people who really loved you and didn't just want to get you in bed, and I sure as hell am not about to let you get hurt this time around like you did with Damien."

Shaking her head, Haley began pacing the room angrily. "How many times am I going to have to tell you that my relationship with Nathan is nothing like what I had with Damien? I was never in love with him, but with Nathan I'm so painfully in love with him that I can't breathe when I'm not with him. Nathan lets me be my own person and definitely doesn't try to force me to do anything I don't want to."

"Break up with him. Break up with him before our friendship suffers more than it already has because of your choices."

"I won't do that Jake; you have no right to even suggest that I break up with Nathan. That's something I will not do for you or anyone else for that matter. Now get out of my room, Jake. This conversation is over and I want you out of my house by tomorrow morning."

"I'm not leaving, Haley. Someone has to get you to see how toxic Nathan is to you. You'll see, I'm going to convince you that you're better off without him."

"God damn it, Jake!" Haley screamed at him as loud as she could. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I don't need to be protected from everything all the time? I get that you've been doing it for most of our lives and I'm more than grateful for it, but this time the only thing hurting me is your hatred of my boyfriend and new found inclination to attacking him!"

Jake looked shocked at his friend's outburst. She usually didn't snap on people like that and he had only seen her lose her temper that quickly once or twice. "I'm gonna go now, but I'll still be here in the morning," he vowed and walked past her out of the room.

Haley slammed the door behind him and collapsed angrily on her bed. All she wanted was for her life to for once be drama free and it looked like that was not going to possible for a little while, or at least until her boyfriend and best friend finally learned to get along.

* * *

><p>"We've been here less than five minutes and I'm already getting annoyed by the staring."<p>

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now though? You're like a god to everyone here, they're all always staring at you and dying to interact with you," Haley laughed and teased her annoyed boyfriend lightly.

"Yeah, but all those other times they aren't staring at me because it looks like I'm some punk that got his ass beat."

"Well, technically you did get your ass beat," Lucas pointed out as he walked up alongside the couple with Brooke on his arm.

Nathan glared at him and Haley looked sharply at him to indicate it was too early to be joking about the messy situation. "Not funny, Luke."

"Sorry," he said apologetically and looked at his cousin. "How are you doing today?"

"Couldn't you tell from the silent war I was having with my stubborn ex-best friend this morning?" she said sarcastically.

"Have you talked to him at all?" Brooke asked curiously and Haley snorted.

"It was more like screamed at him. He was going on about how Nathan is exactly like my ex boyfriend and how much I've changed. After he had the audacity to tell me to break up with Nathan I pretty much lost it. He tried to talk to me at breakfast but I'm not going to bother wasting my breath when I know it'll get us nowhere."

Nathan wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "You two will get past it eventually."

Haley looked up at him confused. "Okay, seriously why are you being so nice about Jake? I'd expect you to be going on and on about how he's an asshole and you should've knocked him out or whatever."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Because I know despite how angry you are with him right now, he's still you're best friend and you two have been through a lot together. As much as I hate to admit that you need him in your life, I know you wouldn't be the same without him available at the drop of a hat. It may be surprising to hear, but I hope someday Jake and I can settle our differences and at least be civil. I'm being nice about it because I love you and I'm finally coming to see that what you want more than anything is for your boyfriend and best friend to get along."

"Awe, how cute," Lucas joked and Brooke smacked his bicep, actually thinking Nathan's speech was completely adorable.

Without warning Haley crashed her lips onto Nathan's and pulled him as close as she could to herself. She eagerly delved her tongue into the concave of Nathan's mouth and explored. Nathan moaned into her mouth happily and let his hands roam down the length of her back. The sound Lucas' fake retching caused them to pull apart but remain in each other's arms.

"Okay, could you at least give a little warning before you start making out right in front of me?"

Haley shrugged with a small smile. "That's what you get when you're an asshole."

"Hey! If I went on saying stuff like he just did do you know how much he would be ripping on me all the time?"

"No I wouldn't!" Nathan claimed and looked innocently at Haley who was laughing softly with Brooke.

"Whatever boys," Haley commented and continued on with whatever mindless girly conversation she was having with Brooke.

Haley looked up curiously from her conversation at Nathan when she heard him grunt. "What?"

Swinging open his locker angrily, Nathan looked around conspiratorially at his gawking peers. "Their staring his getting really annoying and creepy. Yes, I have a bruised up face, now get over it!"

Haley smiled understandingly at him. "It'll die down. I can guarantee something more interesting will happen today, or tomorrow, or the next day and your injuries won't be so interesting anymore."

"I really hope you're right," he grumbled and grabbed the books he needed for his first period class. "Come on, I'll walk you to homeroom."

Nathan tried to ignore the whispers as he passed by people walking down the hall with Haley at his side. It was irritating him to no end but there wasn't much he could do about being the talk of the school. "Today can't go by fast enough."

"Don't let them get to you, babe. That'll only make you more interesting to them because then they'll be wondering why it seems to be making you so angry to be talked about."

"I guess you're right."

"I am," Haley smirked and kissed him on the cheek when they made it to her classroom. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye," he said and turned to make his way to his own homeroom, once again seeing almost everyone he past looking strangely at him. Nathan sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on his bedroom door and he stood up to open it. When Jake saw Nathan standing on the other side he looked surprised and clenched his jaw tightly. "What do you want? No one else is here, if you're looking for one of them."<p>

"I know. I actually came to see you."

Jake chuckled. "You're joking right? Or did you come to get your ass beat again? Although it does look like I did a pretty good job at doing that last night with only a few punches."

Nathan shook his head and sighed. It was already becoming difficult to stop himself from either punching Jake or at least screaming at him. "I'm here for Haley. She may not be speaking to you right now, but you're still her best friend and the only thing she wants is for us to be at least civil with each other."

"And you being the great guy you are decided to try to make her wish come true?" he scoffed. "It's not going to happen; I'm not going to fall for the nice guy act. We both know you're just an asshole that only wants one thing."

"How would you know, when we haven't actually ever had a conversation? Coming here I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but I thought you'd at least maybe try like I am, for Haley. Come on man, you play ball so why don't we go down to the Rivercourt and play a game. We can get to know each other a bit and make the girl we both love to death happy."

Jake sighed and Nathan knew he had him. "Fine, let's go. But know that the only reason I'm agreeing to this is because my friendship with Haley means too much to me to lose again over some guy."

"Alright. For the record though, I'm not with Haley for sex. I love her and we haven't even been together like that yet. I also know you probably hate me because of everything she went through with Damien and you're being protective because you don't want to lose her again or see he get hurt, but look at you two right now. She was actually calling you her ex-best friend all day, so it looks to me like the exact same thing as what happened when she was with Damien is taking place again except this time it's all your own doing."

"I know," Jake laughed miserably. "Why do you think I agreed to spend time with you? It'll get me back in Haley's good books at least."

"As long as you don't punch me again," Nathan added.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. In hindsight I'm realizing that I over reacted and you guys were joking around. It's just that when Haley was with Damien, stuff like that would happen and she would seriously push him away and he wouldn't back off. I was just assuming it was the same situation, until Lucas explained what was actually going on after she left this morning."

Nathan clenched his fist at the mere thought of another guy treating Haley the way Jake was describing Damien. He had heard all the stories from Haley herself, but nothing could compare to hearing it from an outsider's point of view. "I think I found our first thing in common."

"What's that?"

"If Damien West wasn't already dead, we'd both want to kill him."

Jake nodded fervently. "You've got that right. Hell, I want to bring him back from the dead just so I can kill him again."

Nathan voiced his agreement and put his car in park when they reached the court. They both hopped out of the car and Nathan grabbed a beat up ball from the nearby bush. He bounce passed it the other brunette and waited for him to make a move.

"You know, just because we agree on something doesn't mean I like you now."

Nathan smirked. "Same here, but hopefully for my girlfriend's sake we can at least make a little bit of progress tonight."

Jake shrugged. "Maybe," and he jumped up and watched the basketball leave his hands to sail through the chain net. He smiled at the sound and ran after Nathan who was running to the opposite net with the ball.

The two boys may not like each other still, but they both knew the smile that they'd get to see on their favourite blonde's face would be well worth getting to know each other a little and spending some time with someone they don't get along with.


	15. Chapter 15

In honour of OTH day today, I worked extra hard to finish this chapter and here we are! I actually really like this chapter and I'm pretty sure you're all going to hate me for the ending, but I'm going to try to get the next one up as fast as possible! Hope you guys like this one too and please review!

* * *

><p>Chapter 15<p>

"W-What's this?" Haley asked in shock when she watched her boyfriend walk into her kitchen with Jake trailing behind laughing at something Nathan had said upon entering.

"We went to the Rivercourt together to get to know each other a little," Nathan explained like it was no big deal.

Haley's eyes bugged out and her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Seriously? I don't see any new bruises on you though." Haley stood up and began closely examining her boyfriend's face for any newly forming bruises on top of his day old ones.

"Relax, Hales. Neither one of us ended up throwing any punches. We actually figured out we have a lot in common."

Haley still looked surprised and raised an eye brow questioningly. "Like what?"

"Well for starters, we both love you, hate Damien West, and have parents that aren't around much and don't care about us."

"Yeah," Haley agreed softly. "So does that mean you two are friends now?"

Nathan and Jake both chuckled and shook their heads. "We're not quite friends, but we don't want to beat the shit out of each other either."

"I guess that's the best I can ask for right now. I know eventually you two will be friends," she smiled happily.

Nathan returned her smile and leaned down to kiss her forehead lovingly. "I'm gonna go and let you guys talk. Call me later if you're not too tired, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Haley said and hugged him. "Thank you for doing this. I know how hard it must have been to make the first move. I love you."

"It wasn't really that hard. I love you and I knew it'd be what makes you happy," Nathan replied easily with a shrug. He pulled out of Haley's embrace and kissed her one last time. "Bye, babe. See ya later, man."

When Nathan closed the back door behind him Haley sighed uneasily. There was definitely an awkward air to the room now that Haley and Jake's buffer was gone.

Jake swallowed nervously. He really wasn't sure how to start a conversation with Haley. Where was he supposed to start with his apologies? "So..."

"I don't really know what you want me to say to you, Jake."

"I'm not expecting you to say anything. I'm the one that should be giving you a long speech about how sorry I am about the way I acted, so here it is. I'm an asshole. I should never have lost my temper and hit Nathan. I was also wrong to dislike him so much from the get go when I didn't even know him. I was just scared that I was going to lose you again or that he would hurt you like all your other boyfriends have. It's my natural instinct to try to protect you from the world and this time it backfired on me and I was the one that hurt you. After spending some time with Nathan tonight though, I'm realizing he's not such a bad guy after all and I trust him with you. I guess all I'm trying to tell you is I'm sorry, I love you and you mean way too much to me to be fighting over something so stupid."

Haley remained silent as she tried to process her friend's speech. "I guess as far as apologies go, that one is pretty solid."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" Jake asked while trying to hold back his forming grin.

She sighed and shook her head at how quickly she caved. "Yes, I forgive you Jake. I don't want to have to deal with a fight like this ever again though, you hear me?"

"Yes, yes, I promise I'm never going to behave like such a jerk ever again. All I want is for you to be in my life," he promised and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Good, because I hate being mad at you."

"Trust me, I hate it way more," Jake vowed and smiled softly at her. "Let's not make the same mistakes again, Hales."

"We won't. I think with this being our third shot at remaining friends while I'm in a relationship, we'll be able to do it properly this time around."

"What do you want to do tonight now that we're friends again?"

"I don't know, you can choose."

"I think I'm feeling one of our traditional movie nights. Since the last one we had didn't end the way either of us would have liked," he suggested and paused when he mentioned the night of Lydia and Jimmy's accident. "We can try to make new, good memories to replace that one particular painful one."

"Yeah," Haley agreed quietly and smiled reassuringly at Jake when he looked at her with concern written all over his features. "Come on, let's go up to my room and get our movie night started!"

Jake laughed and let her lead him up the stairs. He was so happy that Haley forgave his sorry ass and was giving him another chance. Her friendship means the world to him and he wasn't sure what he would've done if she actually cut him out of her life for good.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you're actually coming to this dinner from hell with me."<p>

"Well, you did something amazing for me and since I know how much you've been dreading this all week I figured having me sitting next to you might make it a little easier."

"Aren't there better things you could be doing on a Saturday than coming to my family Thanksgiving dinner, Hales?"

"No, I don't think there is. Besides, between school and spending time with Jake, we haven't been able to spend much time together these last three days, apart from lunch and classes."

"It's not like we'll be able to spend much more time alone together at my house. Between my mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa, there will always be at least one other person in the room that is either being an asshole or trying to make conversation with us."

"I don't care, Nathan! Now we're here and I'm not changing my mind, so you may as well just thank me for doing this with you and leave it at that."

"I'm more thankful than I could ever tell you, Haley. I've always dreaded these family occasions but knowing you'll be at my side the entire time makes it a lot more bearable. The thing is though; my family can get really overwhelming really quickly. Almost every time we do these holiday dinners we start fighting and someone walks out. I don't want to subject you to that kind of bullshit, especially when there's the possibility that my dad or grandpa could start in on you, too."

Haley cupped Nathan's cheek. "I love you for wanting to protect me from your family, but I think you also know me well enough to know that I can handle myself. If your dad or grandpa does say anything rude or what not to me, I can defend myself and you can have at it and protect me then. Right now though, we don't even know for sure that'll happen so let's just go inside and try to have as much fun as we can, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Nathan said reluctantly and led her to the front door. "You absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now let's go inside," Haley chuckled and gave Nathan a light shove into the now open doorway.

Upon entering, Deb and Nathan's grandmother Mae came to greet them. Nathan was tense as his grandma fussed over his appearance and attitude and Haley blushed when the older women turned to her and introduced herself, offering her endless compliments in the process. From this first meeting, Haley had no idea why Nathan was so adamant about not wanting her to accompany him. She already knew Deb and despite her tendency to be an absentee parent, she was a really nice woman and Nathan's grandma Mae was quite possibly the sweetest old lady she had ever met. Granted, it wasn't his mom and grandma he was worried about, it was Dan and Royal Scott that he had warned her about being complete assholes.

"Come on, Haley. Join Mae and I in the kitchen. Nathan, the boys are in the den watching some old basketball game," Deb said and rolled her eyes at her husband and father-in-law's obsession with a game.

"Actually-" Nathan started to object but Mae interjected.

"Oh Haley here can handle being apart from you for a little while, Nathan! Now go spend some time with your father and grandfather, Royal's been waiting for you to get here."

Nathan grumbled out an inaudible response and Haley smiled sympathetically at him. "You'll be fine," she mouthed to him softly and followed Mae and Deb into the kitchen where the smell of a cooked turkey was beginning to spread its tasty aroma through the house.

"All we have to do is put everything on the table and then we can eat," Deb said and carried a bowl of carrots out to the dining room and placed it on the table. Haley followed the older woman's lead and grabbed a bowl of potatoes to carry out to the table.

"Shouldn't the boys be helping us with all this heavy lifting?" Haley joked.

Deb chuckled in return. "I've tried before, nothing except the words 'dinner's ready' gets them away from the TV."

"Sounds like the typical man. Although I don't usually have a problem in getting Nathan to help me do chores."

"That only makes one of us then. I so much as ask him to even take his feet of the coffee table and I get a comment back. I would probably be a lot more successful with getting him to do what I want if I could bribe him with make outs though," Deb smirked at the teen and winked.

Haley blushed furiously and walked quickly back into the kitchen. She heard Deb laughing behind her as she tried to get the colour of her cheeks under control. Mae looked at her questioningly but Haley smiled at her and brushed the silent question off. The two women heard Deb telling the boys that dinner was finally ready and the older of the two exited the room to take her seat at the large wooden table.

Haley leaned against the counter for a moment and smiled when Nathan came to stand next to her in the same position. "Ready to face the madness?"

"Ready when you are," she said and linked her fingers with his.

Nathan sighed and swung their hands back and forth. "Let's just get this over with."

"Alright," Haley said and dragged his reluctant form into the next room where the four adults had already taken their places. Dan and Royal looked up when the couple entered and both instantly eyed Haley sceptically. Haley felt herself shrink under their gaze. She had only met and spoken to Dan Scott once in passing and had only ever heard stories about how cruel Royal Scott was to his grandson sometimes.

"Well, well, and who is this young lady?" Royal questioned roughly.

Haley smiled softly in greeting. "I'm Haley James, Nathan's girlfriend."

Royal raised his brows and turned his gaze to Nathan. "You never told me you had a girl, Nate."

"You never asked. You were too busy talking basketball stats to care about anything else going on in my life."

"Nathan, don't start," Deb warned from her seat icily.

Nathan rolled his eyes at his mother's reprimand. He pulled out a chair for Haley and tucked it back when she had sat down and he took his place next to her.

"My Nathan, you're quite the gentleman," Mae commented pleased.

Nathan shrugged and took a sip of water while everyone started fixing their plates. "Have a glass of scotch with your dinner, son. That's what real men drink at meals," Royal said and passed him the bottle that was set next to his plate on the table.

Nathan sighed and poured a little bit of amber liquid into his glass. He placed the bottle back down but picked it right back up when he saw his grandfather looking at him expectantly. He poured the liquid until his glass was three quarters full and set the bottle down for the second time. He then joined everyone else in fixing his plate and eating the delicious food.

"So boy, we never did get to finish talking about how your season's going."

"It's fine. If we win the next few games then we're guaranteed to make the playoffs."

"That's what I want to hear," the old man said gruffly. "Now what about this crap I heard from Danny about you collapsing in a game from dehydration?"

"It was nothing," Nathan tried to shrug it off and returned the glare his father was sending him.

"No, it was my grandson being unconditioned. You need to push yourself harder boy and toughen up."

"That is the last thing my son has to do," Deb said strongly. "The last time he felt the need to push himself he almost died."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Nathan didn't collapse because of dehydration. Your son pushed him so hard that he drove Nathan to take performance enhancers to live up to all the expectations and pressure."

As soon as Deb finished speaking all eyes were on Nathan. Haley discretely rubbed his back when he locked eyes with an angry and disappointed stare from Royal. The old man pushed back his chair and shook his head. "No grandson of mine would ever disgrace the game like you did," he spat and walked out of the room.

Clutching his glass of scotch tightly in his hand, Nathan rose from his own seat and stalked off in the opposite direction. Haley watched him worriedly and politely excused herself from her remaining company.

"Are you okay?" she asked timidly when she found him pacing a hole in the floor of his room.

Nathan downed the remaining liquid in his glass but kept it in his firm grasp. "That son of bitch has no right to say I disgraced the game. He drilled my dad the exact same way and that's why my dad does it to me. He's the one that's a disgrace for bullying and belittling like he's better than everyone else."

"Hey," Haley said and coaxed him to look at her with her hand cupping his cheek. "You're right and you've done nothing wrong. You made a mistake because of the pressure you felt you were under and that's all. Your grandpa doesn't get it, so who cares? When have you ever given a damn about what other people's opinions are?"

Nathan breathed out slowly. "I just hate how he treats me the same way my dad always does. I love my grandma and he's the reason I never go visit her because I know he'll always be in my ear and giving me a hard time about basketball."

"I know babe and you don't deserve to be treated like that. But what do you say about going back down there and being the better man and finishing the rest of this dinner. It'll be over before you know it and then we can go back to my house and spend some time together, maybe we'll even make out a bit," Haley said and laughed when Nathan instantly perked up at the prospect of making out with her.

"I guess," he conceded and allowed Haley to lead him back to the dining room. Royal was still noticeably absent but the other three adults all seemed to be continuing on with their conversation like he was never there. "Sorry about storming out," Nathan apologized and looked directly at his grandmother.

"It's okay, dear. My husband can be stubborn sometimes and he's choosing to spend the rest of dinner waiting in the car. Enough about that though, I've been wanting to hear about you and Haley. How long have you two been together?"

Nathan smiled. "About a month and a half."

"Really? The way you two are with each other it seems like it's been a lot longer than that."

He shrugged and poured himself another glass of scotch. He knew he was already pretty buzzed from only finishing the first glass, but this night was already a train wreck, he didn't find a problem in getting a little drunk.

"How did the two of you meet?"

"I used to live in California with my parents but I moved here and I'm living with my aunt, uncle, and cousin now. My cousin Lucas is also Nathan's best friend so he introduced us."

Previously tuning out the boring conversation, Dan's interest peaked at the mention of Haley's parents. He didn't know much about the girl that had seemingly captured his son's heart but he had been wondering for a while why she all of a sudden moved across the county on her own and moved in with her aunt and uncle. "Don't you miss your parents?" he asked slyly.

"Uh, yeah. I miss them a lot actually," Haley responded surprised that Dan had decided to participate in dinner conversation all of a sudden.

"What made you move here then?"

"Dad, it's really none of your business," Nathan said protectively.

"It's fine, Nathan," Haley told him and turned back to Dan. "I moved here because I'm still a minor and Karen and Keith are my closest living relatives according to social services."

"What? Mom and dad don't pay enough attention to you? Or were they slapping you around?" he asked and chuckled softly as he spoke.

"Dan!" Deb admonished sharply. "That's enough."

"What? It was just a question!"

Haley shook her head. "No, my parents weren't _slapping me around_. They were killed in a car accident."

Dan's chuckles only seemed to increase as he saw how upset the girl that was single handedly going to ruin his son's was becoming. "Awe, that's too bad," he said with mock sincerity. "Was Daddy a little wasted? Lost control of the wheel and wrapped his drunken ass around a tree while your mom screamed from the passenger seat?"

The room fell silent as Mae gasped at what her son had just said to this nice, innocent teenage girl and Deb slammed her hand down on the table to get him to stop talking. Nathan clenched his fist to restrain himself from wiping the vicious look off Dan's face. He looked to his side and saw Haley looking down at her plate, obviously trying to conceal her upset. He grabbed her hand underneath the table and pulled her surprised form up forcefully. "Come on, Hales. We're leaving."

Haley nodded and walked quickly and quietly behind Nathan to his car. He silently drove down the streets to get back to her home when he punched his steering wheel angry. "Why is my family so fucked up? I can't believe my dad said all that."

"Nathan, it's fine, I'm alright. After all the stories I've heard about Dan Scott, does it really surprise you that much?"

"It's not okay, Haley! No one has the right to say things like that about your parents, no one and especially not my fucking father. I should have knocked him out," he said through gritted teeth.

"Seriously Nathan, I'm okay," Haley tried to calm him down again.

"Stop saying that it's okay! It's not okay and when I go back there I'm going to make him wish he never opened his god damn mouth."

Haley looked worriedly at her boyfriend and shook her head. Thinking better of saying anything to try to smooth things over in his agitated state, she peered out the window and hoped to pass the rest of the ride in silence. Her hopes immediately vanished when two blinding lights barrelling towards Nathan's small car caused her to squint. In a fraction of a second, Haley realized exactly what they were in for. "NATHAN, LOOK OUT," she screamed right before the pick-up truck speeding through the red light smashed into the passenger side door.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

For a moment there was only silence. In another instant, the sound of car tires squealing against the street and careening away from the scene, screaming witnesses, and racing sirens invaded the brief moment of peace.

Nathan groaned softly as he slowly came back to consciousness. All his brain was registering was the immense pain in his face and that some sort of foreign object was making it harder than normal to breathe. He lifted his arm that was in less pain and swatted away at the deployed air bag.

"You okay, Hales?" he asked in a scratchy voice and willed his neck to turn in her direction. He blinked a few times to focus his vision and tried as hard as he could to tune out all the noise outside the car. It was then that he realized her eyes were still closed and the voice he was waiting to hear respond to his question wasn't reaching his anxious ears. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't heard Haley make a single sound in the short time he had been awake again for.

In that instant, Nathan's heart stopped beating. Something was telling him that his girlfriend wasn't okay and that made him not okay. "Hales, come on baby, you gotta wake up. You have to be alright," he pleaded brokenly.

When the deafening pitch of the approaching sirens reached a constant decibel, Nathan breathed a silent sigh of relief knowing that help had finally arrived. He faced forward again and shut his eyes tightly, allowing tears to pool behind the closed lids. The sound of running footsteps and someone speaking to him had his eyes shooting open again.

"Son, what's your name?" an EMT who looked to be in his mid twenties asked.

"Nathan. Nathan Scott."

"Okay Nathan, I need you to tell me if you're hurt. Are you in any significant pain?"

"No, I'm fine. You have to help my girlfriend. The other car hit her side and I think she's badly hurt."

The EMT at Nathan's side looked across him and saw a petite girl being carefully looked over by some other paramedics. "My colleagues are gonna help her, Nathan. Right now though, I need to focus on getting you out of this car and in order to do that I'm going to have to pop your shoulder back into place."

Nathan looked down and noticed that his throbbing shoulder looked kind of weird. "Okay, do it," he said and shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth in preparation for the pain that was sure to come.

"I will, but it will hurt at less if you're talking to me. Tell me about your girlfriend. What's her name?"

Nathan smiled lazily despite the situation he was currently in. "Her name is Haley James. We've not even been dating for two months and I already love her so much. She's my best friend's cousin that moved in with him and his parents about a month and a half ago."

The paramedic nodded along and gripped the teenage boy's arm and shoulder in his hands. "What about her do you love so much?"

"I love everything about Haley. Her Californian tan, her smile and laugh, how I can always run my hands through her soft hair. She's patient and kind, but can also be such a spitfire. Everything about Haley is so amazing."

The other man smiled softly at how in love this boy sounded. As he listened to Nathan continue on about what he loved about the unconscious girl in the seat next to him, he used all the strength he had to pop the boy's shoulder bone back into its socket.

"Ah, fuck! You couldn't at least have warned me it was coming?" Nathan asked when a searing pain shot through his arm.

"Trust me; it hurts a lot less when I don't warn you."

Nathan grumbled something inaudible under his breath and looked at the guy who just caused him even more pain than he was already in. "Can you get me out of here now so you can help my girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I'm working on it," the guy said and turned to get a few more people to help him get Nathan out.

As he waited, Nathan looked to his right and saw the much larger group of people working on getting Haley's still unconscious form out of the car. He eyed a particularly frantic looking paramedic that appeared to be desperately running his fingers along Haley's neck. "I'm having trouble finding a pulse!" the young man shouted.

Another medic moved her head so her ear was hovering over Haley's mouth and nose. "She's not breathing people! We need to get her out of here now if we want her to even have a shot!"

Nathan screamed as loud as he could and began writhing against his seat to escape the confines of the weak belt that protected him from injury. "Nathan, we need you to calm down!" his medic urged as he tried to avoid slicing the boy while cutting away the seat belt.

Nathan reluctantly stopped with his movements and allowed the group of paramedics pry away the driver's side door from the car's frame and hoist him onto an awaiting gurney. "I don't need a stretcher, or an ambulance. I'm fine."

"Yes you do, I doubt you can actually stand up on your own right now. Even if your legs are fine, the adrenaline and worry you're experiencing right now would be enough for your legs to just give out."

Nathan rolled his eyes but lay back on the pillow attached to the small temporary bed. He looked at the man that had been doing everything he could to help Nathan since arriving on the scene. "What's your name?"

The tall blonde eyed him curiously. "Ryan Lewis."

"Alright, Ryan Lewis, I'm not putting a fight about going to the hospital in this stupid ambulance so you have to make me a promise."

"What's that?" he asked, having an inkling of what the teen might ask of him.

"Make sure Haley is okay. If not, I know your name and I could easily find out where you live. If anything happens to her between now and the time she gets to the hospital, I'll hunt you down," he said stonily, only finishing as the ambulance doors closed after he was lifted in.

Ryan nodded to himself; having a feeling the boy was seriously threatening him. He promised himself to do everything in his power to save the young girl and ran over to join the group of medics already working on her.

* * *

><p>"Alright Nathan, it looks like everything's fine," the greying doctor told the teen as he finished his examination.<p>

"I could have told you that when we started this half an hour ago," Nathan grumbled lowly.

The doctor chuckled softly at the moody boy. "You know you're very lucky that you aren't more injured. I do want you to keep that shoulder elevated and in the sling for at least a couple days though."

"Yeah, whatever. Can I go now? I need to find out how my girlfriend is."

"Yes, you're free to go as soon as you sign your discharge papers with the administration."

Without a word, Nathan slid of the examination table and stalked out of the small room. He immediately walked to the nurses' station and signed his discharge papers. When he turned to sit in one of the chairs in the quiet waiting room, he saw a large group of people moving towards him quickly.

Deb was the first one to embrace him. "Oh my God, are you okay? I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine, Mom," Nathan said and brushed her away from him.

Karen stepped forward next with worry shining in her eyes. "Is my niece okay?

Nathan looked down at his feet guiltily. He couldn't help but think the accident was his fault. Haley was the innocent one and yet she obviously had far worse injuries than he did. "I'm so sorry. I should've seen the other car coming, but I didn't and now I don't even know what's wrong with her or where she is."

Karen looked sadly at the guilt ridden boy before the worried group. "It's not your fault, Nathan. I'm going to go find someone who might be able to give us some answers," she informed and walked toward a nearby nurse with Keith following behind her.

Nathan remained silent as his mom, Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke all looked at him sadly. Jake was running a hand through his hair in frustration and quietly walked in the opposite direction that Karen and Keith had gone. "Do you need anything, honey? You should sit down and rest for a little while or something," Deb suggested.

"The only thing I need is to hear Haley will be alright."

"She's gonna be alright, man. We've gotta believe that."

Nathan nodded and focussed on Karen and Keith when they rejoined the group. "I spoke to one of Haley's doctors and they have her in surgery right now. She told us that Haley has a broken ankle and some cuts and bruises, but they big thing is that she was bleeding pretty badly internally so they're trying to get that under control and stopped. As long as they can do that, she's going to be fine."

He still didn't quite feel relieved, but agreed to actually sit down now that he knew what was going on.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee. Does anyone want anything?" Peyton asked. When she had gotten a few orders she walked in the direction of the cafeteria and saw Jake sitting alone at a table near a group of officers when she got there. Opting to let him be for a few more minutes, she walked over to the self serve coffee machines and began filling a couple styrofoam cups with the hot liquid.

The only word to describe what he was feeling right now would be shock. His best friend was in a car accident and could very well be fighting for her life at this very second. He had already lost his surrogate parents in a car accident and now he might lose the most important person his life to one too.

"You know, that Nathan Scott is one lucky kid," a nearby police officer said to one of his colleagues.

"That's for sure. You never see people walk away with as few injuries as he has in an accident that bad."

"Yeah, not to mention his blood alcohol limit was only a couple points below the legal limit. Plus since he's the mayor's son we can't really charge him for underage drinking."

Jake's head snapped up when he heard the officer speak. Did he really just hear that Nathan was drinking and driving? He had some hell of a nerve to do that after what drunk driving had done to Haley's parents. He stood up angrily and started walking quickly back to where he knew everyone was waiting for news on Haley's condition.

Peyton watched from across the cafeteria as Jake stalked angrily down the corridor she had just entered from. Instantly putting the cups she was holding back down, she followed quickly behind him. When she had finally caught up to his fast moving form, she grabbed onto his forearm. "Jake, what's wrong?"

"My best friend is in the hospital. Isn't it obvious what's wrong?"

"I know that. I meant what's got you so angry all of a sudden?"

Jake growled when Nathan came into view. He quickened his pace and grabbed the unsuspecting boy by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby wall. "Ah, what the fuck?" Nathan cried out defensively. Everyone jumped out of their seats and rushed to the boys' sides to try to get Jake away from Nathan.

"You really are a son of a bitch, you know that?"

"What the hell do you think I did to you now?"

"I trusted you with her!" Jake yelled. "I trusted you to protect her and look what you did! Driving drunk when she's in the fucking seat next to you? Or did you just happen to forget that her parents were killed by a drunk driver? Haley's the only person that I need in my life and so help me God; if she isn't okay you're going to wish you died in this accident."

When Jake finished screaming at the silent boy he pulled one of his arms from Nathan's sleeve and swung it back in preparation to punch him. The feeling of a small hand clasping around his wrist made him hesitate for a moment and look to his side to see Peyton pleading with her eyes.

"Don't do this, Jake. You know Haley wouldn't want you to. She would never blame Nathan for something that was out of his control and wouldn't want you to go around hitting him again."

Jake took a few deep breaths and dropped Nathan just in time for a couple of security guards to round the corner and take in the scene. "Break it up you two, this is a hospital not a playground," one of them spoke gruffly and then they both exited the silent waiting room.

Jake looked at Peyton awkwardly and tugged his arm from out of her tight hold. "I need some air," he told the group and broke out into a jog in the direction of the main entrance of the hospital.

"What is he talking about, Nate?" Lucas asked on edge.

"I wasn't drunk, Lucas. I had a couple glasses of scotch with dinner, but I don't think I was hit by it enough for it to affect my driving."

Lucas' jaw tightened and he shook his head disappointedly. "You don't think? Maybe you should've thought about it a little harder before getting behind the wheel with alcohol running through your veins."

"I wasn't drunk," Nathan repeated, but he didn't have a chance to say anything further before his best friend shook his head one last time and followed the path Jake took out of the room. Nathan sighed and stalked off in the opposite direction. He just couldn't win today. No matter what he did this evening, everything was going south. First the fight with his grandfather, then his father bullying Haley, and finally being the driver in a car accident that left her injured. Now, the icing on the cake was his friends and family thinking him drinking was the reason he didn't see the other car coming. All Nathan could feel was helplessness. He was surrounded by people that love him, but still felt completely alone. As he walked down a desolate corridor deep within the hospital, Nathan turned the knob on a plain looking door and walked into the quiet room. He sat down in one of the old wooden pews and put his head in his hands. Maybe all he needed was to have a little faith.

* * *

><p>"Hey, are you alright?" the blonde asked and gently laid a hand on the boy's rigid form.<p>

"No, not really. I just really need for her to be okay," Jake whispered vulnerably. "She's all I have."

"I know," Peyton said soothingly. "You've just got to believe that she's going to pull through this. Haley is a remarkably strong girl and I just know the doctors are going to fix her up and she'll be good as new when she wakes up."

"What if she isn't, Peyton? What if the doctors can't do anything to fix her?"

"Shh, Jake. You can't think things like that, all the what ifs will eat you up. You have to stay positive and optimistic that Haley will be fine."

"How do you know?"

"When I was little my mom was in a car accident," Peyton supplied softly.

"Was she okay?"

Peyton shook her head softly. "No, she died. But her situation was nothing like Haley's. My mom forgot to buckle her seat belt and was thrown from the car."

Jake wiped a solitary tear off his cheek. "That's what happened to Jimmy too. The seatbelt snapped in half and he was thrown through the windshield."

"Nothing like that happened to Haley, though," Peyton stated upbeat and rubbed Jake's arm to comfort him. "She'll be fine," she repeated her mantra.

He nodded his head slowly. "I really hope you're right."

" I am. Now come on, let's go back inside. You should be with the people that are praying for the same thing you are."

They duo stood up off the stone bench they were sitting on and started making their way back to the gloomy waiting room. "Hey, Peyton?"

"Yeah?" Peyton answered in acknowledgement.

"Thanks for stopping me from hitting Nathan. If I had, I'm sure Haley would disown me as her best friend again, and thanks for coming out here and making me feel a little better. It means a lot to have someone to lean on through this."

"You don't have to thank me, Jake. I wanted to do it."

Jake smiled shyly at the blonde beauty and continued walking alongside her back through the hospital. Despite the situation, he felt an unfamiliar sense of excitement roll through his stomach and sparks shoot through his arm where Peyton's hand grazed.

* * *

><p>"Just please let her be okay," Nathan said aloud in the empty chapel. He had been sitting in there by himself for about twenty minutes now and these were the first words he had said. "Don't punish Haley because I've been a bad guy for most of my life. If you need to hurt me, don't hurt her in the process because she doesn't deserve that after some of the shit she's been through lately. Whatever you throw at me I can take it, just let Haley come out of this okay."<p>

The door to the chapel opened silently and Brooke stood watching Nathan sadly. He looked so broken that her heart almost couldn't handle being there any longer. She pushed past her own hurt though and slid into the pew Nathan was sitting in and huddled up next to him. Just by sitting next to him, she comforted him in almost all the ways he needed, not even uttering a single word.

"We all know you would never drink and drive, especially with Haley in the passenger seat. Lucas is just worried about Haley and you became an easy target to pin his anger on."

"It still hurts all the same."

"I know it does, Nate, but when Haley wakes up and she's healthy again, I'm sure Lucas will apologize for not believing you."

"What if she doesn't wake up? It'll be my entire fault."

"That's not going to happen, and the only fault lies with the stupid driver who ran a red light."

Nathan didn't respond and Brooke wrapped a comforting arm around his defeated form. She gently rubbed his arm and allowed him to rest his head on her small shoulder.

Little did the worrisome teens know that two floors below them, the heart rate monitor of a certain blonde was reaching an erratic pace. The surgeons and nurses froze in confusion before beginning an organized, frantic rush when the line instantly went flat.

"She's going to be fine. I can feel it," the brunette whispered softly.


	17. Chapter 17

Woohoo! Finally an update! It's seems like it's been so long since I've done this and I guess it has, but I'm finally back! This chapter isn't my favourite but it'll do. Just to let everyone know too, this is probably the second or third last chapter of the story. I know it's ending kind of suddenly but this is where I want to end it off and call it a day. There will be an epilogue to wrap everything up and tie a nice neat bow around all the story lines I've got going on, so don't worry about that! That's all I've got to say, so happy reading and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter that's taken me ages to finish! Drop me a review and let me know what you think. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 17<p>

"How is she?" Karen asked anxiously when one of Haley's surgeon came into the waiting room. They had been waiting for what seemed like forever in this dingy little waiting room. Nathan and Brooke still hadn't returned from where they had gotten off to, but no one had much time to worry about them when they were so focussed on praying Haley would be okay.

The older man sighed softly. "She's stable. We had to remove her spleen to get the bleeding under control. Haley lost a lot of blood though and we won't be sure how extensive the damage is until after she wakes up."

"But she's going to be fine?"

"Yes, everything points to Haley making a full recovery. You should know though that we lost her for about a minute during the surgery. She also wasn't breathing for a few moments on the ambulance ride here. When the heart stops beating and a person stops breathing, blood and oxygen aren't making it to the brain and that can cause long term brain damage. As of right now, we don't think that'll be the case with Haley but we won't know for sure until she wakes up."

"When will she wake up?" Lucas asked wearily.

"It could be a couple hours, could be a couple days. It's all up to Haley now, but I wouldn't give it more than three or four days."

"Can we see her?"

"Yeah, the nurses are just getting Haley set up in her room, but if you go down this hallway and turn left, it's about halfway down on the right. While Haley's unconscious and recovering I ask that the maximum number of people visiting at a time is two."

Keith nodded at the man and wrapped a comforting arm around his wife. "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor smiled at the group. "You're welcome," he said and left them alone again.

Nathan rounded the corner into the waiting room with Brooke still at his side. The duo saw an older man with a white medical coat walk away from their friends and family. Nathan immediately quickened his pace to get to them as fast as he could and learn of any new developments with his girlfriend.

"What happened?"

Karen smiled softly at the petrified look Nathan was sporting. "Haley's out of surgery. If all goes well, she'll be awake sometime in the next few days and will make a full recovery."

"What do you mean _if all goes well_?" the boy asked sceptically.

Karen sighed, she knew what she was about to say would make the teen even more worrisome. "There were some complications in the surgery that may affect Haley long term. We won't know until she wakes up though, but the doctor seems to think everything will be fine."

Blowing out a deep breath, Nathan nodded his head. "Are we allowed to see her now?"

"Yes. I think we should go do that."

"You and Keith can go first. After all, you are basically her parents now."

"Nonsense, Nathan we all know you've been worried out of your mind for Haley. You should go in and spend some time with her first."

"No, I couldn't. Besides, I need a few minutes to prepare myself for seeing her in a hospital bed. I'll just see her after everyone else has had their chance to go in and visit first."

Keith patted Nathan's back as he walked by him. Nathan offered the man a small smile of thanks for the comforting gesture and followed behind the rest of the group down the stark hallways of the hospital until they approached Haley's room. Karen and Keith each took a deep breath and entered the room, leaving Nathan, Jake, Peyton, Brooke, Lucas, and Deb standing in the hallway.

Nathan let his shoulders slump as he felt himself losing whatever composure he had managed to conjure up. He sniffled as quietly as he could to gain control over his emotions and hoped that no one heard him. As he looked up he saw Jake with his head in his hands and the guilt he was feeling became even more unbearable. He took two quick strides across the linoleum and stood next to the brunette boy.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely and Jake's head snapped up in surprise. "It was stupid of me to get behind the wheel after I'd been drinking. I wasn't thinking and I deserve to be punched in the face again for doing this to Haley."

Jake nodded and let out a long breath. "As much as I'd like to punch you again, I know Haley would kill me and the accident wasn't entirely your fault. You couldn't predict that some asshole would run a red light."

"If I hadn't been drinking earlier I might have been paying more attention and noticed that the guy wasn't stopping," Nathan pointed out and shook his head miserably.

"Nathan, this isn't your fault," Deb spoke from the other side of the hall and he watched as Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas all nodded along with her in agreement.

"Yeah, man. I mean I was pissed off but you gotta know that no one blames you for anything," Lucas contributed.

As Nathan was about to respond, a loud commotion around the elevators that were out of sight to the group caused them all to turn in the direction of the waiting room. An array of voices could be heard shouting questions to an unidentified subject as the elevator doors opened and the person walked out.

"I appreciate all of your concern, but right now I'm just a father worried about his son," Dan's voice boomed over the reporters and they all fell silent and began to disperse.

"What the hell does that son of a bitch think he's doing," Nathan growled lowly and took off in the direction he knew his father was in.

His friends watched him in confusion and Deb was filled with dread. Without a second thought, they all took off after his quick moving form and round the corner to see Nathan and Dan come face to face in an empty hallway. Dan's lips immediately upturned into a sinister smile and he began wrapping his arms around Nathan tightly. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay, son."

"Get off me!" Nathan jerked and pushed his father away with all his strength. Dan stumbled back a step and the smile disappeared from his face.

"That wasn't very respectful of you, Nathan. Don't forget I'm your father. All that matters right now though is that you're fine and not hurt and we can go home now."

"I'm not going anywhere. You can leave now though, and don't bother coming back."

Dan clicked his tongue indignantly. "Why so hostile, Nathan? You should be happy that you weren't hurt and you can go back to going about your normal daily business."

Nathan scoffed. "Screw you, Dad. It's your fault that I ended up here in the first place."

The older man looked at his son in surprise. "What have I ever done to you that weren't for your own good? You should be grateful that I've provided you with the lifestyle that I have for the past eighteen years!"

"What have you ever done to me?" Nathan repeated angrily. "How about bullying and belittling me about basketball all my life! Treating me like shit when I didn't play up to your standards and pushing me so hard that I felt like I had to take steroids just to compete with you! You criticize every aspect of my life and even go as far as to rip apart the people I care about so much so that I have to actually leave a family dinner because you're being so harsh."

"Now you're just being ungrateful. I've given you everything, Nathan."

"I'm not ungrateful at all, Dan. You're a son of a bitch and you better hope Haley is okay or I'll kill you. That's a promise that I'm not afraid to keep either."

Dan's eyebrows rose as he listened to his son speak angrily. "So that's what's got you so worked up. That little tramp of yours didn't get so lucky? It must be my lucky day," he mused loudly to himself. "Get over it, Nathan. If you're lucky she'll die and you'll forget about her in a week's time. She's below you. If you're just looking for a good lay and you're going to slum it, at least go for a girl that's even halfway pretty."

In that moment, three very angry teenage boys lunged at Dan Scott. Each of them throwing every punch to defend Haley James' honour and shut up the foul mouthed older man. Dan fought back with everything he had and actually managed to get in a few square punches on each boy. They clearly weren't conditioned enough to know how to fight properly and were merely letting their rage do all the work. He knew they weren't going to last long and began chuckling as he fought them back, enjoying every second of their weak attempt to men.

After a few minutes, Keith and Karen rounded the corner in confusion when they heard the scuffle from inside Haley's room. When they saw what was happening, Keith automatically rushed forward and started to pull the three teenage boys against the older man who appeared to be doing a pretty good job at holding his own against the others. "Hey! Break it up. This is not the place to be starting a fight, grow up and show some respect," he said angrily.

All four of the fighters were breathing heavily and glaring at their opponent. Dan eyed Nathan in particular and shook his head. "You're more of an idiot that I thought you were, choosing some whore of the week over your family. Consider yourself completely cut off," he said and started to turn to leave, but before he had the chance Keith lunged at him and punched him square in the jaw.

"Don't you dare call my niece a whore, jackass," he threatened and Dan regained his balance and took off out of the hospital, noticing that more people were entering the hallway and were beginning to actually recognize him as the mayor of Tree Hill and shot the dramatic group concerned glances every few seconds.

"Thanks, Dad," Lucas said when Dan had departed and Keith shook his head disappointedly.

"Just because I punched him too does not mean that you three boys are off the hook. Lucas, you're grounded. As for you other two, Jake you're also grounded until you head back home to California and same goes for you Nathan."

"How can you ground me? I don't even live with you."

"You do now. There's not a chance in hell that Karen and I are going to let you continue to live in a house with Dan. I think your mother agrees with us," he said and looked to Deb questioningly and watched her nod guiltily.

"It's probably for the best that you two aren't around each other anymore. It's gotten way past toxic to have you interacting with each other."

Nathan looked at his mother in complete shock. "And what about you? I take it this you choosing Dan over me?"

"It's not that simple, honey. Deep down your father is still a good man and I still love him. You can't just expect me to leave him because of one fight you have with him."

"Wow Mom, that's really great. I guess you didn't get the memo that mothers are supposed to put their kid before anyone and everything, no matter what. You can go too, it's pretty clear whose side you're on."

"Don't be like this, Nathan. I'm not choosing anyone's side in this."

"Yeah, well you just did," Nathan said in a tone of finality and walked away from the group. Every pair of eyes followed his retreating form with a sad gaze. Deb opened her mouth to speak to him but a disappointed look from Karen made her shut her mouth and turn in the opposite direction with her shoulders slumped. She really hadn't meant to choose her husband's side but by not protecting her son like she was supposed to, she did, and that was unforgivable in Nathan's eyes.

* * *

><p>"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were in here," Nathan apologized when he walked into Haley's hospital room and saw Jake sitting in the uncomfortable chair in the corner of the room. "I'll come back later."<p>

"Nah, its fine. I've been here for a while now, I should probably go eat something and get some fresh air."

"Are you sure? I can come back if you want a little more time with her."

Jake stood up and offered Nathan a grateful smile. "I'm sure, but thanks for offering, man. You really aren't as bad as I originally thought."

"Yeah, you aren't half bad either," Nathan shrugged and chuckled and moved away from the door so Jake could open it and leave Nathan alone with his girlfriend.

"Hey, baby," Nathan said softly as he walked further into the quiet room. He closed the door softly behind him and pulled up the chair beside Haley's bed. "How're you feeling today? Hopefully like you're going to wake up."

Nathan took in the how peaceful Haley looked and let a small smile break onto his face. "Everyone's been here day and night pulling for you. It's only been about three days, but it feels like I've been in this hospital waiting to see your beautiful brown eyes looking back at me for a lot longer than that. I know you hate it when I lose my temper or start fighting, but something tells me you'd be happy that I stood my ground with Dan because he hasn't come around since Jake, Lucas, and I tag teamed him.

You'd be proud of me, Hales. You know how you've been saying how I need to cut Dan out of my life for good? Well, I'm starting to. I moved out of his house and I'm sleeping on your living room couch right now when I'm not here with you, because Karen and Keith know I don't really have any place else to go after my mom basically abandoned me for Dan. I went to the police station this morning and filed a restraining order against him so he can't come within a hundred feet of us and when you wake up I want you to sign off on it too so that he can never do anything to hurt us ever again. I'm also looking into legal emancipation and the lawyer I talked to thinks I have a real shot at getting it."

Nathan fell silent for a few moments and took a breath in. Before he managed to finish the simple action, his breath hitched in his throat and a slow tear rolled down his dry cheek. "You have to wake up, Hales. I don't know what I'll do with myself if you don't come back to me soon. I'm so lost without you," he said and let a few more stray tears fall as he rested his head gently next to her still body.

Nathan lifted his head in shock when he thought he felt her cold fingers move slightly in his tight grasp. His eyes widened even further when he saw that Haley's eyes were beginning to flutter open softly. She squinted against the harsh bright sun streaming in through the curtains and Nathan leapt up to close them completely. He smiled and chuckled happily. "I can't believe you're finally awake," he said and kissed her forehead gently while laughing softly in disbelief.

Haley gave him a perplexed look but managed a half smile nonetheless. "Hi."

Nathan's smile widened at hearing her delicate voice pierce through the blanket of silence that had overtaken the small room. His joy faded however when he saw the confusion written on Haley's face. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked worriedly and squeezed her hand gently.

Haley gazed around the room and took it all in. There were strange machines hooked up to her and the bed she was on was definitely not her own. The only thing keeping her calm at the moment was Nathan's presence, but even that couldn't stop her from beginning to panic at the unfamiliarity she was experiencing. "W-Where am I?" she stuttered softly.


	18. Chapter 18

I'm back and happy with a fixed computer! I took a mental health day today and managed to finish up the latest chapter as you can see! If everything goes according to what I've laid out, this is the third last chapter of Coming Home. Upsetting, I know, but I just feel like if I kept going I'd be dragging it out a bit especially when I've finished telling the story I intended to write when I started this thing. I have another story in the works that I'll be starting after I post the last chapter of this one, so I won't be going anywhere! On another note, I watched the movie called Beautiful Boy today, Austin Nichols has a small roll in it and I'm telling you all, go watch it. It's one of the most powerful movies I've ever watched and I cried so hard. It's truly magnificent! Alright, that's my little spiel over with and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Drop me a review to tell me what you think.

* * *

><p>Chapter 18<p>

Nathan froze when he heard Haley's confused question. He knew this could be a possibility but he never thought in a million years that it would actually happen. Injuries like what Haley may or may not have from their accident were things you only read about happening in random towns in far away states or other countries.

"You don't remember?" he asked fearfully to which Haley shook her head and gave him a concerned look when his face seemed to pale slightly. "I'll uh, just go get the doctor."

"Doctor? Nathan just calm down and tell me what's going on, please."

Nathan swallowed thickly. The one thing that was keeping him from completely losing his mind was that she remembered who he was. He didn't know the extent of her memory of them just yet but something told him that she knew what he was to her and was aware of all her feelings she had for him before the accident. "I can't explain it; I'm just going to go get the doctor. I promise I'll be back in a minute."

Haley's face fell in disappointment when Nathan left the room. Here she was in some strange room that she was assuming to be a hospital after he mentioned a doctor, all alone with no idea what was going on and the only familiar thing about the situation left. She surveyed and took in her surroundings as well as she could and she managed to notice that she had a plaster cast around her ankle and ending up at her mid calve. She was also experiencing some pain in her abdomen and after lifting her gown up slightly, she saw the stitches going about three inches across her stomach.

Haley sighed and closed her eyes, despite just waking up she still felt quite tired. She figured the best way to pass the time before Nathan returned was to try to rest a little bit more.

At the same time, Nathan walked anxiously down the hallway and toward the waiting room where the nurse's station was also located. He knew Karen, Keith, and Jake were most likely all waiting for him to finish visiting Haley so they could have their turn. As he rounded the corner he walked quickly to them and smiled. "She's awake."

Karen immediately leapt up and tears sprung to her eyes. "Oh my gosh! You're serious?"

"Yeah," Nathan smiled wider but it faded when he realized he was going to have to tell them that Haley was disoriented and confused.

"What's that look for?" Jake asked concerned.

"Haley doesn't remember what happened. She recognized me when she woke up but she had no idea where she was or why she's here. I told her I'm getting the doctor and she still looked really confused."

"We knew this could happen, but I think if Haley knew who you were that's probably a good sign. Let's just find the doctor and then we'll be able to rest easy once we know what exactly is going on with Haley," Keith once again acted as the voice of reason before anyone got even more anxious.

The other three nodded in agreement and headed to the nurse's station to let them know that Haley was finally awake again. The nurse smiled gladly when Karen spoke and told the group she would send Haley's doctor to her room immediately and if they headed there now, they would probably run right into him.

Nathan walked quickly down the familiar hallways with the other four trailing a pace behind him, they saw that the nurse was true to her word when they reached Haley's door and came face to face with Haley's main doctor, Dr. Sheppard.

"Good morning," the older man said with a smile. "One of the nurses told me that Haley is awake? That's excellent," he said brightly, happy to hear the young girl was showing great signs of improvement.

Normally, Nathan would smile and be polite to the older man but right now he was way too worried about the well being of his girlfriend to care if he came off rude or not. "Haley doesn't remember what happened. She kept asking me where she was, so can you do your job and examine her so we can find out what exactly is going on?"

The doctor's smile dropped and he sighed. "We knew this was a possibility, Nathan. Why don't you all come in while I do the examination so Haley will feel a little more comfortable and I'll be able to explain what's happened to all you once I know for myself."

They all nodded and followed the older man into the plain room where Haley was still looking around in confusion and apprehension. Karen squeezed Nathan's shoulder softly to offer him some comfort and he smiled at her in thanks.

"Hello, Haley. My name is Dr. Sheppard and I've been the lead doctor on your case since you were brought here. I'm just going to ask you a few questions and examine you to make sure everything is okay. Does that sound alright?"

Haley nodded slowly in response and the Dr. Sheppard smiled in satisfaction. "Okay, first of all, do you know where you are?"

"Not exactly. Judging by your presence and all these machines hooked up to me, I'd say I'm in a hospital."

"Good. Any ideas of what hospital you are in?"

Haley shrugged her shoulders slightly. "That depends I guess."

"What does it depend on?"

"How serious my injuries are, because from what I've been told Tree Hill's hospital isn't that big or well enough equipped to handle some of the more severe injuries. If I had to guess, I'd say Tree Hill hospital though."

"That's good, Haley. You're observation skills seem to be completely fine. Now, can you tell me who these people are and what their relation to you is?"

The five people standing against the opposite wall of the room all held their breath and prayed that Haley remembered who each of them were. Haley surveyed them all with a small smile spreading across her face at seeing their obvious love for her shining in their eyes and began to speak. "They're Keith Roe, my uncle; Karen Roe, my aunt; Lucas Roe, my cousin; Jake Jagielski, my best friend from California," Haley paused for a moment when her eyes landed on Nathan. She knew who he was and she felt her smile widen when her eyes locked with his. "And the sexy guy on the end is my boyfriend, Nathan Scott."

Dr. Sheppard chuckled softly when he watched a beaming smile break out Nathan's face. "That's really good, Haley. Your memory seems to be intact, except that Nathan was telling me you don't remember what happened to you?"

"No, I don't. He wouldn't tell me when I asked," she informed him and looked pointedly at Nathan who smiled seeing that Haley was definitely still her previous self. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I will, first I'm curious as to what point you remember up to. Do you know what the date is today?"

"Uh, no. The last I remember was that Nathan and I went to his house to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family and we left because..." Haley trailed off, not wanting to disclose Nathan's familial problems in front of everyone in the room.

The doctor looked expectantly at Haley and nodded. "It's okay if that's all you remember."

Haley bit her lip and looked questioningly at her boyfriend and he knew instantly that she was holding back for his sake. "It's fine, Hales," he spoke but she still looked worried. "I promise its fine. It's not like my family drama is a secret."

Haley accepted his answer and turned her gaze back to the doctor standing beside her bed. "We left because Nathan's father basically started verbally attacking me and my family. That's kind of the last thing I remember."

Nathan refused to look anywhere but in Haley's eyes as he felt Karen's sympathetic stare and the other men visibly tense at the knowledge of someone hurting Haley in any way anymore.

"Thanksgiving was three days ago, Haley. You've been in a coma since coming out of surgery. You and Nathan were in a car accident on your way back to your home. The other car hit the passenger side door, which if why you had much more extensive injuries than Nathan. During surgery, there was a minor complication in that we lost you for a little bit, but judging by how well your memory seems to be still, I'm confident in saying there won't be any long term damage. As for your other injuries, during surgery we couldn't get your internal bleeding under control and took out your spleen in order to be able to. You also have a broken ankle, but with the cast it should be completely healed in about four or five weeks. Now, if you don't have any questions for me I'll leave you to spend some more time with your family, but I still want you to get plenty of rest."

"I just have one question," she said quietly, still trying to absorb everything that was just told to her. "When will I be allowed to go home?"

"I want to keep you here over night just to make sure everything is definitely okay and then tomorrow sometime you'll be able to get out of here. Sound good?"

"Yes, thank you Doctor," she smiled at the man and he walked out of the room. Karen immediately stepped forward and walked over to Haley's bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"How're you feeling, kiddo? You've been worrying all of us quite a bit these past few days."

"I'm okay. This may sound weird, but I'm actually kind of tired," she said with a laugh.

"You're tired? Do you want us to go so you can sleep in some peace and quiet?"

"No, stay. It's comforting to know you're all here with me."

"We won't leave this hospital, Hales," Lucas promised as he, Jake, and Keith all made their way to stand around her bed.

Haley smiled gratefully and rested her eyes for a moment. When she opened them back up again, she noticed that Nathan was standing against the wall still and gazing intently at her. When she locked gazes with him she realized that he had completely zoned out on something. "Do you guys mind if I talk to Nathan alone for a minute?" she asked softly to which the others immediately obliged and left the room, closing the door behind them.

When he heard the sound of the door closing Nathan snapped out of his trance and looked around the room in confusion. He forced a smile onto his face and looked at Haley. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to what was going on. I'll go so you can get some rest."

"No, stay. I wanted to talk to you," she called out when he turned to leave the room as well.

"Oh. What's up?" he asked, still remaining rooted in his spot against the wall and Haley sighed, knowing there was something going on with her boyfriend.

"Come here," she patted the bed softly and watched as he hesitantly made his way over and sat next to her. She cupped his cheek gently and forced him to look into her concerned brown orbs. Without hesitation, she lifted herself up as much as she could and pushed his neck down the rest of the way to meet her lips in a slow kiss.

Nathan pulled away after a moment much to Haley's disappointment. He buried his face in her long tresses and let out a deep sigh. "I've missed you."

"I'm here now," she spoke gently and rubbed his back. "Talk to me, Nathan," she pleaded when he remained silent wrapped in her comforting embrace.

"You just woke up from basically a coma, Hales. You don't need me weighing you down with my problems right now," she objected and pulled away from her.

"If you don't tell me what's wrong, I'm just going to worry about you even more," Haley told him in hopes that it would persuade the raven haired boy to open up to her.

"Don't try to guilt me into this, I already feel guilty enough as it is."

Haley raised a brow at that. "What do you have to feel guilty about?"

"You're kidding right?" Nathan asked and gestured to her form lying in a hospital bed. "If it weren't for me, you'd probably be at home right now doing homework or something, instead of lying in a hospital bed unconscious for the past three days."

"Nathan, this isn't your fault. I remember what happened at dinner at your house and you were protecting me by making us leave. You couldn't have known that someone would run a red light and hit us, it was all an accident. I don't blame you for any of it. Besides, it's not like I was the only one hurt in the accident. Are you okay?"

"Just because you don't blame, doesn't mean it's not my fault," he continued to argue, ignoring her question completely.

Haley tried to hold make her laugh. "Did you not hear anything else I just said? No matter how you look at it, this isn't your fault."

Nathan looked at her with vulnerability swimming in his eyes. "It still kills me seeing you here all the same, and it doesn't change how scared I still am of losing you."

"You heard the doctor, Nathan. I'm going to be fine, and I'm not going anywhere any time soon," she assured with conviction and drew Nathan back into her arms.

"This is pathetic," Nathan said with a slight chuckle. "You're the one that's hurt and I need the comforting.

"Since when have we been a normal couple though?" Haley joked."Besides, you were hurt in the accident, too."

"Yeah, but a couple cuts and bruises with a dislocated shoulder is nothing compared to a coma. I don't even have to wear a sling, so it's not a big deal," he pointed out. When Haley smiled at him and tried to stifle back a large yawn, Nathan stood up off her bed.

"You should get some sleep. I'll leave you alone now," he smiled and kissed her. "I'll see you later." As he was about to turn to leave, Haley's hand clasping around his wrist stopped him. He looked at her questioningly and she looked at him shyly.

"Do you think that you could maybe stay with me? I really don't want to be alone in here. Hospitals have always creeped me out."

"Sure," he smiled down at her and kicked off his running shoes. Haley pulled back her thin blanket and allowed Nathan to slip underneath it and lay next to her. He wrapped his arms around her, mindful of the incision on her abdomen and she carefully rolled over so they were face to face, snuggling into his chest as much as she could.

"I love you, Hales, and I'm so glad that you're okay. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You don't ever have to worry about that. I love you, Nathan," she vowed and laid a kiss on his shirt clad chest.

The two teens sighed contently at being in each other's arms again. It didn't take long for their exhaustion to get the better of them and sleep to take over. They lay in the small, uncomfortable hospital bed completely at ease for what felt like the first time in a very long three days.


	19. Chapter 19

This is it guys, last chapter before the epilogue. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.

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><p>Chapter 19<p>

As Haley sat in her hospital bed watching Dr. Sheppard sign her discharge papers she felt a wave of happiness sweep through her. After being conscious in it for less than twenty four hours, she couldn't wait to get out of it. Everyone had been great since she woke up yesterday, but she couldn't help feeling like they were walking on egg shells around her as though she was some fragile child. It wasn't completely obvious, but sometimes it became clear that her loved ones were tip toeing around her, for reasons beyond her.

When she moved to put on the pair of shoes Karen brought for her Nathan stepped forward and immediately slid them on her feet and tied them up. Normally, she might tease her boyfriend for being so whipped, but right now it was only serving to back up her fragile child treatment argument.

"I can put on my own shoes, you know," she objected with a roll of the eyes.

"I know, I just don't want you to be straining yourself doing something I could easily do for you," Nathan defended his actions.

"I'm pretty sure bending over to tie my shoes isn't _strenuous_."

Doctor Sheppard chuckled softly at the bickering couple. "Nathan has a point, Haley. You need to be taking it easy and focusing on healing yourself, so for now just sit back and let people wait on your hand and foot."

Haley grumbled something under her breath and Nathan smiled triumphantly. "See, Hales? Just let me help you, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't want to."

Haley stubbornly remained silent which caused the two men to laugh a little more. "Alright, you're free to go Haley. If you don't take it easy though I'm sure Nathan will not hesitate to call and let me know?" the older man turned to the younger with a questioning gaze to which Nathan nodded promptly.

"Fine, I will," she begrudgingly agreed and the doctor smiled at her before exiting the room.

"You ready to go?"

"I've been ready to get out of here since the second I woke up."

Nathan chuckled in agreement. "Okay, let me help you with your crutches."

"Nathan," Haley said sternly when he kept an arm around her waist while she tried to stand up. "I know how to walk with crutches, I've had a broken ankle before."

"Alright, sorry!" he threw his hands up in surrender. "I just want to do anything I can to make this easier for you."

"It's a broken ankle and some stitches on my stomach, I don't have some crazy brain injury or something," she pointed out with a small laugh.

"You're still injured though," he said as he watched Haley expertly maneuver herself on her crutches and over to the door. "You weren't joking when you said you know how to walk with crutches."

"Nope. When I was eleven Jake and the guys made me climb trees with them and I fell off the branch I was sitting on and broke my left ankle.

Nathan winced, imagining how painful it must have been to fall out of tree. "That had to have hurt."

Haley nodded fervently. "So much, I cried the entire way to the hospital. I had to use the crutches they gave me for like a month, so I got pretty good at going about my normal life with them."

"So basically I don't have to worry about your klutziness making an appearance because of them?"

Haley stuck her tongue out at Nathan. "I'm not that much of a klutz, but no, I should be okay."

"Good. I can't have anything more happening to you."

She smiled at the protectiveness in his voice, but it dropped when they made it to the waiting room and she saw that Karen and Keith were nowhere to be found. "Where are my aunt and uncle?"

"Oh, they're at your house getting everything ready for when you get there."

Haley cut her eyes at him suspiciously. "Is there anyone else there?"

"Maybe," Nathan smiled conspiratorially.

"Come on, Nathan. You know how much I hate surprises! Who else is there?"

"Just Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, and Jake. Brooke pretty much insisted on throwing you a welcome home party."

"That's nice of her," Haley smiled and actually allowed Nathan to help her into the passenger seat of the SUV his father gave to him to bribe him into forgiveness.

"Yeah. I told her to not go too big, because you wouldn't want anything huge, but who knows what she cooked up. It's Brooke Davis after all."

Haley laughed and shrugged. She didn't respond and the couple allowed the car to taken over by a comfortable silence until they finally arrived at Haley's house. "It feels so good to be home."

"I can only imagine. Come on; let's get you inside so this welcome home party can start."

Haley slid out of the vehicle and Nathan was immediately at her side with her crutches. He passed them to her and carried her bag of stuff up the porch as he walked in step next to her. Not bothering to knock or ring the door bell, he twisted the knob and walked into the silent house. Haley led the way into the dark family room and as Nathan stopped behind her and turned on the lights, six people jumped out of their hiding places.

"SURPRISE!" they yelled with excited smiles on their faces. Each of them were trying to gauge Haley's reaction and she had the good sense to look like she had no idea what was awaiting her when she walked into the room.

"Wow! Thank you guys so much. You didn't have to do this for me, but it means a lot," she spoke and surprised herself when she was fighting back a few tears.

They all stepped forward and hugged her briefly and whispered how thankful they were that she was okay. When all the hugs had finally been given Nathan stepped forward and addressed the group. "Haley has strict orders to take it easy and get plenty of rest, so I'm gonna take her upstairs now."

Before they had a chance to leave the room though, Karen spoke up. "Are you hungry, Haley? I can make you whatever you want."

"Oh my gosh, I'm starving, hospital food is disgusting. I really want mac n' cheese right now," she said and Karen smiled.

"Mac n' cheese coming right up," she said and walked into the kitchen with Keith happily following behind her.

"Alright Hales, let's go," Nathan said and started ushering her out of the room.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Nate!" Brooke complained.

"Haley needs to rest, Brooke."

"Fine, but Peyton and I are coming up to keep her company."

Nathan knew better than to object to Brooke and simply grumbled as he continued leading Haley out of the room and up to her bed. When she had gotten completely situated and comfortable Nathan kissed her cheek. "I'll come see how you're doing later."

"Okay. I love you, Nathan," she smiled.

"I love you, too," he replied happily and Brooke started pushing him out of the room.

"Peyton and I love you both, too, but you can go now Boy Toy. We need girl time!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going Brooke!

As soon as Nathan's form had crossed the threshold into the hallway, Brooke slammed the bedroom door. She smiled widely at her blonde friends and plopped herself on the bed next to Haley. Peyton took her seat on Haley's other side and took a few black markers out of her purse.

"After today, you are officially going to have the coolest cast in Tree Hill."

"Just don't go all dark and twisty on Tutor Girl's cast, P. Sawyer."

Peyton stuck her tongue out a Brooke. "I won't, B. Davis."

"So Hales, how does it feel to be out of that hideous hospital gown and back at home?"

"God, so much better than I can tell you. I pretty much never want to set foot in a hospital for the rest of my life. It's weird though, everyone's acting differently around me since I woke up."

"We were all just worried about you Haley, and now that you're awake and going to be fine we're trying to protect you from anything that might hurt you so we're kind of tip toeing around you."

Haley sighed and rested her head back on her pillow. "I get it, I really do. I just can't help like feeling out of the loop or something, like something is deliberately being hidden from me."

Brooke and Peyton shared a discrete glance at each other. They had a feeling they knew what Haley was being kept in the dark about, but they both knew it wasn't their place to tell her. "Maybe you should talk to Nathan about that, Hales. He would probably know better than we do."

Haley furrowed her brow. "So there is something then and it has to do with Nathan? Should I be scared about this? I have to talk to him," Haley said quickly and made a move to get off the bed and find Nathan.

Her two friends grabbed onto her arms and gently pulled her back. "Calm down, Haley. It's nothing that directly concerns you, I'm sure Nathan will tell you soon and was probably just waiting because you have a lot going on right now."

"I don't care what I've had going on lately, he's my boyfriend and should tell me what's going on with him!"

"Haley, you need to calm down. The doctor told you to rest and take it easy and you need to listen to him, okay? Nathan will tell you what's going on in time and everything will be fine. Just wait and give him time. I promise," Peyton said seriously.

Haley sighed. "Why can't you two just tell me?"

"It's not our place to tell you, Tutor Girl," Brooke said regretfully. "Okay, new topic!"

Peyton started to say something to bash Rachel but a knock on Haley's bedroom door halted her. "Come in!" Haley called out.

Jake poked his head into the room and smiled at the sight of his best friend. "Hey, do you guys mind if I talk to Haley alone for a minute?"

"Sure, no problem," Brooke obliged and Peyton followed her off the bed. Haley watched them leave and her eyebrows shot up when she watched Peyton kiss Jake's cheek with a seductive smile when she passed him. Jake's smile widened and he closed the door behind the two girls.

"Okay, what was that?" Haley asked curiously.

What was what?" Jake feigned innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me, Jake Jagielski. What was that between you and Peyton?"

Jake shrugged and Haley swore she saw him begin to blush. "Peyton's a really cool girl and she helped me a lot while you were in a coma. I asked her to be my girlfriend yesterday."

"No way!" Haley exclaimed and threw her arms around Jake. "I'm so happy for you, Jakey! Distance is going to be hard though. When are we losing you?"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Haley asked in confusion when she took in the broad smile spreading across his face.

"Do you know how much my parents love you?"

"Yeah. They used to always joke that they wanted me as their daughter, why?"

"I called them and told them what happened to you before you woke up. They send you their best and if I were you I'd expect some sort of lavish gift in the next couple days."

Haley laughed and nodded her head. "What do your parents sending me an awesome present have to do with anything?"

"Well, if you'd let me finish my story I'd tell you! Anyway, while I was talking to them I mentioned how I didn't know when I would be able to go home because I wasn't leaving until you woke up. Then they said how maybe it would be good if I could stay in Tree Hill on a more permanent basis because best friends belong together."

"Are you getting to what I think you're getting to?"

"My parents offered to buy me an apartment here and let me transfer to Tree Hill high for the rest senior year."

Haley's smile dropped in shock. "You're joking."

"No, I'm serious."

Haley screamed shrilly and hugged her best friend as tightly as she could. "This is so awesome!"

"I have to go back to California next week to pack all my stuff up and get it shipped back out here. Then you're stuck with me for good, Haley James."

"I can't believe this is actually happening!"

"So you're happy? You aren't mad that I didn't ask if it was okay with you?"

"Seriously, Jake? I'm ecstatic! You are my best friend and there's nothing I could want more than having you in the same town as me again."

"I love you, Haley," Jake proclaimed and hugged her tightly again. "I'm so glad you're happy."

"I am happy, Jake and I love you too," she said and tried to suppress a yawn.

Jake chuckled and stood up. "I'll take that as my cue. Sweet dreams, Hales."

"Thanks, Jakey," she said with a sleepy smile and closed her eyes.

A few hours later, Nathan slipped into Haley's dark bedroom. Her party had wound down and after playing video games with the guys for a little while he figured he should go check on her and make sure everything is alright. He smiled softly when he saw her peaceful form. He sat down on the bed next to her and caressed her cheek lovingly. A smile spread across the blonde's face and eyes fluttered open. She saw her boyfriend sitting above her and also noticed the plate of mac ' cheese sitting on her night stand.

"I love that you want to take care of me, but you have to go home, Nathan. You need to take a break from looking after me and get some sleep. No offense, but you really are starting to look like crap."

Nathan scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Actually, I can't go home."

"What do you mean?"

"After the accident when everyone was at the hospital waiting for news about you, my dad and I got into a huge fight and afterwards my mom basically took his side. I moved out and got a restraining order against him and Karen and Keith have been letting me sleep on the couch."

"What?" Haley asked in shock. "So this is what you've been hiding from me, right?"

The raven haired teen winced and looked pleadingly at her. "Don't be mad, Hales. I just didn't want to tell you about my family problems when you woke up and pile onto everything you had going on."

"I'm not mad, Nathan, but I can't help but worry about you. I think you should at least talk to your mom, there's no way she would ever deliberately choose Dan over you."

"Yeah, well she did and I don't want her in my life if she'd do something like that to her own son."

"Okay! I'm not going to fight with you about this. Right now, I'm tired and just want to cuddle with my big, sexy boyfriend."

"Oh really?" he asked flirtatiously and watched Haley nod and bite her lip. "I think I can handle that then," he said and slid under the covers next to her. She saddled up as against his chest and kissed him softly but the young couple didn't have a chance to go any further before Haley's bedroom door swung open and Karen walked in.

"Oh no no no no. As long as Nathan is living here, there are rules. Rule number one is no being alone in a room together with the door closed. Rule number two: no cuddling or doing anything elseunder the blankets in any bed," the women listed sternly. "The rest of the rules I'll explain tomorrow when we're not all exhausted."

Haley lifted her head from Nathan's chest. "Aunt Karen, can he stay here for tonight please? It's too hard to sleep without him with me," she said persuasively and Karen sighed.

"Fine. This is a onetime thing, though. And don't think about using the puppy dog eyes on me ever again, Haley James."

Haley laughed and smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Karen! Good night."

"Good night, Haley," the older woman said with a shake of her head and made sure to leave the door wide open as she left.

"You really are quite the little manipulator, you know that?" Nathan said and squeezed Haley's waist.

"Oh, shut up, you know you love it."

"I do love it, and I love you."

"I love you, too," Haley smiled and pecked his shirt clad chest. "Did you hear that Jake's moving out here? His parents are buying him an apartment and letting him transfer to Tree Hill high."

"That's awesome, Hales!"

"Yeah, it is," she said contently. "You know, when I first moved to Tree Hill I thought my life was over. My parents were gone and I was being taken away from the only other person I had that felt like family to me. Now, I couldn't picture my life being any other way. Tree Hill is home and you, along with everyone else I've connected with here are my family. You make me so happy, Nathan and I can't imagine what my life would be like without you."

"You're my family too now, Haley, and you don't ever have to worry about living life without me. I have a feeling we're going to grow old and grey together and I can't wait to be with you the rest of my life."

Nathan and Haley shared one last kiss before dozing off into what would be the first of many, many nights next to each other.


	20. Epilogue

This is it guys, last chapter of Coming Home! It's been a joy writing this story and I'm sad to see it end but I'm also so happy that I was able to tell and received positive feedback about it. A special thanks goes out to everyone who has reviewed at all, I can't thank you guys enough for keeping me inspired. Check out my profile t read the description of the next story I'm working on Dirty Little Secret. I hope y'all enjoy the epilogue and let me know what you think!

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><p>Epilogue<p>

"Are we there yet?" Brooke's whine echoed through the previously silent car.

Jake sighed in annoyance; it was getting hard to concentrate on driving with Brooke's constant questioning. "No Brooke, for the millionth time we aren't there yet. We probably have at least another six or seven hours to go."

"Well, how am I supposed to know? It's dark out and I can't see the signs on the road!"

"Maybe because you asked the same question ten minutes ago," Peyton drawled from the passenger seat.

Brooke shrugged unabashedly and Lucas wrapped an arm around her. "Why don't you try to get some sleep to pass the time?"

The brunette nodded and cuddled into her boyfriend's chest as best she could with her seat belt restraining her. "I still don't understand why we couldn't just fly to California. That would have been so much better than driving in this cramped van for two days."

"The drive is part of the adventure, Brooke," Lucas reminded with a soft laugh. "Plus it's way cheaper this way, and since we're all broke college students, cheaper is better,"

"Speak for yourself, Broody. The one thing my parents are good for is sending me money every couple of weeks." Her boyfriend nodded knowingly and began rubbing her back lightly.

"Go to sleep. Maybe by the time you wake, we'll be in Wasatch." With those few words Brooke happily obliged and almost immediately fell into a peaceful slumber.

Jake sighed thankfully and locked eyes with Lucas in the rear view mirror. "Thanks, Luke. I was almost about to kill her."

"No problem," he smiled. "How much longer until I have to drive?"

Jake looked at the clock. "About half an hour or so."

"Alright, I'm going to try and get some sleep for now too. Just wake me up when it's my turn."

"Sure thing, Luke," Jake replied and the blonde boy became silent as he too dozed off. The car fell silent again and each awake occupant was lost in their thoughts.

Nathan absent mindedly began running his hands through Haley's long honey tresses in the darkness. After being in his current position with Haley cuddled up next to him for a few hours, every part of his body seemed to be numb. He and Haley hadn't been participating in the group's conversation very much today, but instead focusing more on each other. He knew that Haley was getting kind of anxious about arriving in Wasatch. This trip would be her first time back in her hometown since her parents' deaths exactly one year ago.

Last year when Jake announced his plans to move to Tree Hill permanently, Haley's plan to visit him for Christmas fell apart and she never had any other reason to go back to California. When she came to him last month, upset about the rapid approaching anniversary of Jimmy and Lydia's accident and being unable to go visit their graves, he immediately jumped into planning a group surprise trip for her.

It had been a pretty fun two day drive with their best friends so far, but each of them couldn't wait to arrive in Wasatch so they could get away from each other for a little while.

Nathan kissed Haley's forehead lovingly and she flashed a kind smile up at him. He returned the smile and leaned his head down further and captured her lips with his. The kiss was slow and gentle, but full of love.

"Okay, I don't care how long Nathan and I have been roommates, I still don't want to see or hear you two making out," Jake broke them apart with his disgusted tone.

"Shut up, Jakey. Would you rather see or hear us having sex?" Haley retorted with a sinister smile.

"Haaaales," Jake whined in an even more grossed out tone. "I try to block out all the memories I have of hearing you guys through walls in our apartment in Tree Hill and even at Duke!"

"Don't feel bad, babe. Sometimes when I'm in our dorm I have to remind them that I'm in the bed right across the room. They've always been disgustingly affectionate," Peyton added.

Haley stuck her tongue out at her two friends in the front seats. She smiled thinking about their living arrangements at Duke. Jake and Nathan had both received basketball scholarships and Haley and Peyton decided to follow their respective boyfriends and go to Duke as well. It was a no brainer that Haley and Peyton would room together. Nathan and Jake had been living with each other back in Tree Hill since Jake's parents bought him a small apartment and Nathan decided it was time to get out of Keith and Karen's hair. Jake graciously invited Nathan to move in with him and they had been getting along better than ever since. So, when it was time to pick who they wanted to dorm with at Duke they had no problem selecting each other.

It was ideal having two couple and two available dorms to go to, most of the time they ended up having one couple in one of the dorms and the other in the other dorm.

"You alright, baby?" Nathan whispered in Haley's ear when she had zoned out from the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm just kind of nervous to go to their graves. It's going to be hard."

"I know you said you wanted to go alone originally, but are you sure you still want that? I can come if you'd like."

"Yeah, I think it'd be easier for me if you were there."

"I'll be right beside you then," he vowed and gently squeezed the arm he had wrapped around her waist. "Go to sleep, baby. You sound exhausted."

"I will if you do, you sound exhausted too, Nathan."

"I promise I'll get some sleep, too," Nathan chuckled and leaned his head against the side of Haley's. They both closed their eyes and waited for slumber to come in the silent car.

* * *

><p>"Hales, wake up. We're finally here," Nathan whispered into his girl friend's ear some hours later. He watched as Haley's eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings outside the van. A large smile broke out on her face when she saw Jake's familiar neighbourhood.<p>

"I can't believe I'm finally here again," she said softly and climbed out of the car, past the still slumbering Brooke.

When she planted her feet on the hard driveway she saw that Jake, Lucas, and Peyton were beginning to unload the vehicle. "Are you gonna wake your girl friend up, Luke? Apparently she sleeps like a dead person."

"I figured I'd give her a few more minutes, she tends to get really grumpy if she doesn't get enough sleep."

"I heard that!" Brooke yelled from inside the car and stepped out of it, glaring at Lucas. The rest of the group laughed and the all began carrying their luggage into Jake's house.

"Wow, when Haley said you were rich, I didn't think you were this rich," Peyton said as she and the rest of the Tree Hill natives took in the lavishly decorated mansion.

"Yeah, I guess I don't really think about it that often," Jake shrugged uncomfortably; he hated it when people pointed out his wealth. "Hales, you know where your room is so you can show Nathan to it. Brooke and Lucas if you follow them, the room you can stay in is across the hall and Peyton I'll take you to our room on the opposite side of the house."

Jake smiled at them all and the group split up to head to their rooms. Haley led Nathan, Brooke, and Lucas down the long halls until they finally made it to two doors directly opposite each other. "Seriously, how loaded is Jake?" Brooke asked in awe. "I mean, I thought my parents were rich, but my house doesn't even compare to this."

"His dad is a big shot business tycoon. Jake doesn't really like to talk about his parent's money though because it caused a lot of painful memories for him when we were kids," Haley explained and she pointed to the door Brooke and Lucas were standing in front of. "That is your room, it has a king size bed and bathroom, so you should be all set."

"Thanks for showing us to it, Hales."

"Yeah, no problem," she said and opened her own bedroom door and Nathan walked in behind her. When she saw Brooke and Lucas enter their own room she shut the door behind her. "So, I guess we should unpack then?"

"Or we could see your parents now and unpack later," Nathan suggested.

"Are you saying that because you're a nice guy or because you hate unpacking your stuff?"

"A little bit of both, I think," he said honestly. "So what do you say?"

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea."

Nathan smiled at her and held out his hand and she laced their fingers together. "How far away is the cemetery?"

"It's only like a fifteen minute walk, so there's really no point in driving. I'll just text Jake and let him know where we're going."

"Sounds good," Nathan said and allowed her to lead them back down the halls they had just come from and out the front door of the house. "From what I've seen of Wasatch, it seems like a nice little town."

"It is. It reminds me a lot of Tree Hill. I love the small town feeling. I'll have to give you the grand tour later."

"Nathan smiled lovingly at her. "I'd like that. What is there to see on the Wasatch grand tour?"

"Well," Haley began and linked their arms together. "First stop is the cemetery, we're both gonna love that. There's a couple small restaurants and stuff that we liked to hang out at, Jake's house, and the high school. There's really not that much to see, but I am excited for you to meet my old friends."

"I'm excited to meet them too. It'll give me the chance to find even more about what you were like before I met you. Jake gets annoyed when I ask now; he says it's creepy how much I want to know about your life."

Haley chuckled softly and peered up at him. "It may be just tad creepy. You know you could always just ask me if you're curious about something?"

"I know that, but you aren't going to tell me embarrassing stories about your childhood, I need to ask your friends for stuff like that!" he teased and Haley rolled her eyes playfully.

"Why do you want to know stuff like that about so badly? We've been dating for almost a year now, my past is irrelevant!"

Nathan clicked his tongue. "That's where you're wrong, Haley James. I love you and I want to know every single, little thing there is to possibly know about you."

"Fine," Haley huffed. "Question my friends about all my embarrassing little secrets, just promise you'll still love me after they tell you all the dirt they have."

Nathan smirked and he tried to hold back his laugh. "These stories must really be something if you're making me promise such a thing."

"They aren't that bad. You know how much of a klutz I am, my childhood embarrassment probably won't come as a surprise to you," Haley shrugged and took in a sharp breath when the gates to the cemetery came into view.

Nathan unhooked their arms before wrapping his around her waist tightly and offered a reassuring squeeze. The couple walked through the tall, wrought iron gates and up a narrow dirt pathway. When Haley saw her parent's graves clearly come into view she halted. Nathan looked at her curiously and found her staring straight ahead. He immediately understood what she was looking at kissed her temple gently. "You can do this," he whispered into her ear and she offered him a timid smile.

"I think I need to do it alone actually. I love you for coming this far with me though," she told him and Nathan nodded his head with a smile.

"I'll wait right here for you."

Haley didn't respond and once again faced the two graves placed twenty feet away from her. She walked slowly and carefully along the path until she was standing right in front of them. They both said the same thing and she knew exactly what it was, but the blonde girl read the very bottom phrase anyway.

'_The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.'_

When Karen and Keith asked for her help picking a quote to put on her parent's graves this one stuck out to her. It didn't really relate to the death itself, but everyone who knew Lydia and Jimmy James knew they loved to laugh and joke around. The quote was one that truly reflected their daily attitude and behaviours. Haley laughed softly remembering some of the many times where her parents' humour surfaced at inappropriate times. She sighed at the memories flooding her mind and opened her mouth to speak.

"Hi Mom, Daddy. I'm sorry I haven't come to visit sooner, the thought of coming here was always too much for me to handle," she started and dropped to her knees. "I miss you both more and more every day, but moving to Tree Hill might've been the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to connect with Aunt Karen, Uncle Keith, and Lucas. I also made new friends that I just know are going to be with me for the rest of my life. The person that made Tree Hill special for me though, is my boyfriend Nathan. Remember how you guys were always teasing me and saying I needed to date to loosen up? Well, I finally did it!" Haley laughed and sniffled to try to keep her composure.

"You would both love Nathan as much as I do. We've only been dating for about a year now, but he's the love of my life. He makes me so happy and I can't imagine what my life would be like without him anymore. I just wish you were here to see how amazingly he treats me," she felt the built up tears slowly begin to roll over and slide carefully down her cheeks. She tried to regain any ounce of composure she could but found herself unable to calm down. She spoke quietly one last time before breaking down completely. "I miss you so much."

Nathan saw his girlfriend hunched over with her body shaking violently. He immediately rushed forward and made it to her side in record time. Her broken form collapsed into his arms as soon as he was beside her and Nathan helplessly rubbed her back and tried everything he could think of to help her calm down. After about ten minutes her sobs subsided into small sniffles every now and then and Nathan tipped her chin so she was looking directly at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly and she forced a smile onto her face.

"I'll be okay, it was just overwhelming being here and talking to them and remembering everything about them. I feel better though, almost like a weight has been lifted off me now that I have a little more closure."

"Good, I'm glad this helped you. Now what do you say to walking back to Jake's and spending some quality time together and with our friends?"

"I say that sounds perfect," Haley smiled and allowed Nathan to help her onto her feet. The couple walked silently hand in hand back to Jake's mansion, both lost in thought about the events that occurred in the cemetery.

A few hours later, five friends were all seated around a table on Jake's patio. Jake walked out onto the deck with his cell phone in hand and a mischievous smile on his face. "I just got off the phone with Mouth. I told him I'm in town visiting my parents and want to hang out. He's bringing Skills, Junk, and Fergie with him."

"Why didn't you just tell this Mouth person the truth?" Brooke asked confused.

"I wanted to surprise them. They haven't seen Haley in a year; it's more fun this way. Especially since Junk will probably cry when he sees her."

Haley scoffed and shook her head. "He's not going to cry, Jake."

"Oh yes he will! You didn't see him after you moved to Tree Hill, I seriously thought he was going to pack up and move there too."

"Were you and Junk really close, Hales?" Nathan asked with a hint of jealousy which caused Haley to smirk.

"No, not extremely. Jake's just delusional."

"Anyone with half a brain could see that Junk was pretty much in love with Haley since we were kids, except Haley apparently."

Nathan's jaw clenched and Haley ran her fingers through his raven black hair soothingly. She leant over and whispered in his ear so only he could hear. "Don't worry babe, you're the only guy for me."

Nathan smirked in satisfaction, causing Lucas and Jake's faces to twist in disgust. "I really don't want to know what you just said to him to make that God damn smirk to be so big," Lucas said and Jake nodded fervently in agreement.

A knock sounded on the wooden gate at the side of Jake's house caused the group to all turn their head's. "Yo Jake man! Unlock the gate!"

Jake smiled and stood from his seat. He walked over to where the gate was in the fence and unlocked it. He smiled at his old friends and bumped fists with each of them. When they rounded the corner, four strangers and a familiar blonde came into view. The four boys walking with Jake all stopped in their tracks and broad smiles broke out onto their faces.

"Is that little Haley James?"

Haley stood up instantly and met her old friends halfway. She hugged each of them tightly and allowed them to pick her up and spin her around. The last guy she hugged was a pale brunette. "I've missed you, Junk," she said happily and the friendly boy hugged her just a bit longer then her other friends did.

"I've missed you too, Hales," he replied emotionally and Haley fought to hold back her laugh, maybe Jake was right about his little crush.

When Junk put her back on her feet, Haley noticed that Nathan and the rest of her friends had joined them. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when Nathan placed a protective arm around her waist and pulled her to him. The two groups introduced themselves and then Jake addressed the guys. "Who wants to play some ball?" he asked, gesturing to the court behind him.

All the boys quickly agreed and started over to his home basketball court. Haley, Peyton, and Brooke groaned in annoyance. Basketball was hands down one of the most boring things to watch for them. Nathan heard their protests and slowed so he was walking in step with them. "Cheer me on for a little while in this game and I'll give you the surprise I have for you earlier than I planned."

"You have a surprise for me?" Haley asked excitedly and Nathan smiled at her.

"I do and I promise after we play for a little while, you and I can go for a walk and I'll give it to you. Deal?"

"Deal," Haley smiled and kissed him softly.

"Our boyfriends suck, P. Sawyer. Why does Haley always get to be the one treated like a princess and given presents?" Brooke whined from next to the happy couple.

"Guys like me are a special breed, Brooke. Lucas and Jake are chumps compared to me," Nathan joked and kissed Haley again before running to join the guys already on the court.

"Decided to stop making out with my best friend and join us, Scott?" Jake teased the boy.

Nathan smiled and shrugged. He really couldn't help it if his girlfriend was irresistible. "Just shut up and let's pick teams."

Jake chuckled and did as he was told. They started the game a few minutes later with Haley, Peyton, Brooke, and Mouth watching from the sidelines. Haley couldn't wipe the smile off her face in anticipation of what was sure to be a great surprise.

* * *

><p>"Nathan, where are we going? You haven't even been in town for twenty four hours, there's no way you could know where anything is."<p>

Nathan shrugged. "It's a surprise. I saw it on the way to the cemetery and I knew it would be perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Haley asked, her voice laced with confusion.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Come on, Nathan! I just want my surprise," the blonde pouted which caused laughter to bubble up Nathan's throat.

When the park he had seen earlier came into view he smiled even wider. It was even more romantic at night than it had been during the day, with a jazz band playing quietly. He grabbed her hand and ran across the street with her and as they came closer to the park he smiled at her.

"Dance with me."

"Of course," Haley smiled and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck when they joined a crowd of a few other dancing couples. "Is this my surprise?"

Nathan scoffed and looked at her disbelievingly. "Come on, Hales, you know my surprises are better than just dancing in a park."

"It is pretty perfect though, your surprise may not even be able to top this."

"Oh, I'm willing to bet that it will," he smirked.

"Well then why don't you test that theory and give it to me!"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're a little impatient, Haley James?"

"Many times, they also tell me it works to my advantage."

"That it does," Nathan smiled and he stopped swaying. "Alright, let's keep walking and I'll give you your surprise."

Haley clapped giddily and allowed Nathan to guide her along the winding asphalt path in the park surrounded by trees and flowers. Haley furrowed her brow when Nathan suddenly stopped after walking for a minute. He turned to her with a loving smile on her face. "I love you, Haley."

"I love you, too," she said softly and stoked his cheek.

"From the first moment we met on the Rivercourt, I knew there was something special about you. It didn't take long for me to realize I was in love with you and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. You're my family, Hales," Nathan said seriously. He paused his speech and moved so he was bent down on his left knee.

Haley gasped sharply when she watched Nathan get down on his knee. He was digging in his pants pocket and smiled as he pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen. It had a gold band with a large white diamond set in the middle with two smaller ones on either side of it. She put her free hand to her gaping mouth and locked eyes with Nathan.

"Haley James, will you make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me?"

A single tear rolled down Haley's cheek as she nodded over and over. "Yes!"

Nathan smiled wide and he slid the ring onto Haley's left hand. He stood up quickly and hugged her tightly, picking her up and spinning her in the process. "I love you, and this doesn't mean we have to get married or start planning right away, I just want the promise of it being in the future for us. I can't wait to be your husband but we can take as much time as we need to plan and everything-"

Haley cut off her fiancé's speech when she fused her mouth with his. The kiss was full of passion and excitement and when they pulled away the couple smiled shyly at each other. "You were rambling, and I love you too, Nathan. I can't wait to be your wife and I agree that we should take our time with planning since school is the number one priority right now."

"So was that surprise everything you imagined it would be?" he asked as they started heading back to Jake's house.

"It's so much better, baby!"

"I'm glad. I can't wait to start my life with you, Hales."

Haley squeezed his hand in agreement and the couple let a happy silence envelope them. Nathan and Haley's long life together was just getting started and they couldn't wait to see what life had in store for them.


End file.
